Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 261st Edition

Welcome to the 261st Edition of my long-running series. Fresh off my five-year anniversary, I return to my normal format of 10 rather than 100, something I won't be doing again anytime soon. This week, I am introducing a new thing called "The Chain" where I am starting it with Christina Ricci and I will continue using her until I run out of films in my Netflix queue of her, then I move onto another person. I admit I will be the most entertained by this concept I came up with really to maintain that each week I get something out of Netflix. In Fantasy Football, I am now 4-5 in Fantasy football but am only one game out of the division lead so we'll see what Sunday holds for me to stay in it and win it all. Last week, my mom and I had our annual tryout at AMERICA'S GOT TALENT in Chicago which went real well. I moved up the farthest place in can in the preliminary auditions and now I hope for a call from them which they said if they decide to use me they will call me in April sometime so that I can give it another shot. Last night TALK RADIO opened and it went real well so come check it out if you are in the area. Now I'll get onto my ten films for the week so get your Netflix queues out.

Jesus of Montreal (1989): I start off with this French-Canadian film directed by Denys Arcand. Lothaire Bluteau stars as Daniel who is brought into the church to direct the annual Passion play. He is also told that they have not had very good crowds so he decides to do a very controversial interpretation. This becomes well received by some but looked down upon by the catholic church who thought they knew what they wanted but were wrong when they see what Daniel puts on. There is also an interesting element where characters they play mirror their own lives. This was a pretty good foreign film and can be found on Instant Netflix.

The Laramie Project (2002): This is the first link of my chain starting with Christina Ricci. Moises Kaufman wrote and directed this film which is based on his play where he interviews many local people in Laramie, Wyoming where the horrific murder of Matthew Shepard occurred. Many actors play the characters involved in his life and people in the community. Peter Fonda, Steve Buscemi, Laura Linney, Janeane Garofalo, and many others co-star as town-members. For those who do not know, Matthew Shepard was a gay man going to college and was brutally murdered by a couple young boys in the town. There was also a really good moment where the supporters of Shepard non-violently combated a picket from the Westboro Baptist Church. This is used a lot in schools to teach acceptance and tolerance. This was put on at Pruis Hall at Ball State University by the Multicultural Center. Next week, the chain continues with more Christina Ricci. This was a movie put on by HBO getting many big-name actors who want to help the cause.

The War of the Worlds (1953): This is the first film adaptation to the H.G. Wells classic where a small-town is dealing with an alien attack. Gene Barry stars as Dr. Clayton Forrester who bands everyone together to deal with this alien attack but sees that weapons are not really the answer. This story is really a statement towards are Cold War with Russia. This story is most known for the 1938 radio broadcast narrated by Orson Welles where many people really thought these events were happening sending many into a panic. This was presented by my local library and the effects look cheesy by today's standards but really meant something then where special effects took a lot more effort. This was remade in 2005 where they had the great CGI but that did not make it a better film.

My Best Fiend- Klaus Kinski (1999): This is my documentary for this week which was presented by my friend Travis on his Co-Op film series. Werner Herzog directed this film which takes a look at the very volatile working relationship he had with actor Klaus Kinski. Herzog directed Kinski in five films. This does take a very good look at Kinski showing the first film clip that Herzog saw of him. This also shows Kinski's softer side and even moments where he did get along with Herzog. They are about as important as Scorsese/De Niro, Akira Kurasowa/Toshiro Mifune, D.W. Griffith/Lillian Gish, and many others. They had many volatile moments on the set but possibly what was needed for Kinski to give everything he had to his characters.

Anna Lucasta (1958): This is an interesting early portrait of a black family of that era. Eartha Kitt plays the title character whose father has kicked her out of the house. She then turns to prostitution to make ends meet until her father asks her back because of the rest of the family wanting her back. Sammy Davis Jr. plays her friend who just can never get to the next level with her like he wants. Rex Ingram plays her father where some of the scenes get to be a bit much in his temper towards his daughter. However, while not a classic, it was worth seeing Eartha Kitt in her part. This is available on Instant Netflix This is based on a 1944 play by Philip Yordan.

The Most Dangerous Game (1932): Leslie Banks stars in this film as Count Zaroff who enjoys hunting where the victim of the sport are humans. He is on an island where a ship is shipwrecked where the three passengers, played by Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, and Robert Armstrong. They first believe he is very generous but realize there is a little more to him and must fight for survival. It has quite a bit of violence for this era and something I'm sure was rather controversial for its time. It is good to see Fay Wray in something else besides KING KONG which is all she is really known for. Banks is good in his film debut.

Believe It or Not (1931): This is my short film that I found on TCM. I am not sure of which one this is in a long series of these shorts from 1930-1931 but Robert Ripley, my hero, did a series of these showing some of the great oddities he found. In this one a little boy is supposed to be doing his homework but only finds interest in his book. He then falls asleep and has a dream where he and Mr. Ripley walk through his book to show some really cool things. I had the pleasure of going to this place in Orlando and I love looking at those books so this was a very fun few minutes.

(500) Days of Summer (2009): Marc Webb directed this romantic comedy but please keep reading before you just dismiss it as such. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom Hansen, a greeting card writer, who then meets and falls for Summer Finn, played by Zooey Deschanel, who says she does not believe in love but still forms a complicated relationship with Tom. She then breaks up with him which causes him to flashback to their relationship to analyze what went wrong. This was a very well done love story. Chloe Moritz is also good as Tom's little sister who is probably more mature and tries to help him through his break-up. This also puts great use of 80s alternative like some music from The Smiths.

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974): Rainer Werner Fassbinder directed this foreign film which is another unusual love story from the last selection. We first meet Emmi, an older German woman, who meets a Moroccan man named Ali who is not only a different race but 10 years younger. They then form a relationship leading up to marriage which becomes looked down upon the whole town including Emmi's family who just cannot understand how these two different people fall in love. This takes a great look at the price of being prejudice and what it can do. The two leads in the film are great and really make you feel for them even though they might be quite different than we are.

The Bucket List (2007): I end this week with a selection from my Facebook friend Rod who owns Wishbone Gifts, a great local store in Muncie, so if you are in the area, check out some really cool things that are sold there. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman team up in this one. Nicholson plays Edward who is a selfish billionaire. Freeman plays Carter, a working-class mechanic, family man, and history buff. The one thing they have in common is that they are terminally ill men who are in the same room and decide to escape to do the things that they have always wanted to do. They both learn a lot in the process. This was a great film showing us to live life like it is the last day you have because for them there was not much left. It is also very interesting watching Nicholson evolve into a more humanistic person. Rob Reiner directed this one.

Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which so far includes more Christina Ricci, Sean Astin, Alec Guinness, Peter Lorre, David Arquette, the late Jill Clayburgh, and many others.