Welcome to the 264th Edition of my long-running series. I continue to lead my division in fantasy where I play my rival and if I win, I clinch a playoff spot so let's hope that goes well. I got a good start on the Thanksgiving game with Lesean McCoy so hopefully the rest of my team can match what they did last week. This week I pay tribute to the late Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen who was recently gunned down. With the Christmas season coming around, I will try to focus some on that in both the religious and commercial sense with a couple religious picks for this one.
In the Loop (2009): This is one of Travis' Co-Op film viewings. This is an interesting war satire where we have the British Prime Minister and the US president both fancying a war in which not everyone agrees. A big misunderstanding starts when the PM says that "War is Unforeseeable". Not everyone is in a big agreement on the war including US General Miller, played by SOPRANOS alum James Gandolfini. Armando Iannucci directed this British war comedy which co-stars Anna Chlumsky. This was a great job of making comedy of a horrible situation that is rather realistic. There is not much more to say or explain except that it is a great comedy which needs to get a little more on the radar.
The Kingdom (2007): This is the 4th link of "The Chain" which continues with Chris Cooper to pick up where Christina Ricci left off. Peter Berg directed this film which deals with a terrorist attack of an American housing compound in Saudi Arabia where FBI agent Ronald Fleury, played by Jamie Foxx, assembles an elite group to investigate the matter but with much trouble from the locals who want to do it on their terms. Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Jeremy Piven, and many others co-star in this film full of action and story. The film is fictional but based on the 2003 bombing of the Riyadh Compound. I really liked the opening scene which documented the history of the Middle East since the 40s. The Chain continues next week with another Chris Cooper film.
A Cool, Dry Place (1998): I was not sure what I would think about this film but I ended up really liking it and really liked Vince Vaughn in this one. He plays Russell who is the single father of a five year old, an attorney at a small-town law firm, and the high school basketball coach. He had been the hotshot at a Chicago firm but had to move to a small town in Kansas for work where he has built a pretty good life. He has just formed a relationship with local Beth, played by Joey Lauren Adams, but things get complicated when his estranged wife, played by Monica Potter, returns for her son who she left years ago. The Netflix description bills this as a modern-day KRAMER VS. KRAMER but it did not quite get that intense. Vince Vaughn is really hit-or-miss with me but I think this one hit the hardest for me. I actually brought myself to care for him which I have found that hard to do with his other movies. It is a great portrayal of a single father and of a small town. Vaughn shows a much different side in this one than most are used to seeing. Monica Potter is also good as the mother and estranged wife trying to win her way back into their lives.
Hell Up in Harlem (1973): This is my tribute to Ronni Chasen, a Hollywood publicist who was shot to death. She was the Unit Publicist for this Blaxploitation film. Blaxploitation icon Fred "The Hammer" Williamson stars as Harlem gangster Tommy Gibbs in this sequel to BLACK CAESAR and no I have not seen that but have heard good things. Larry Cohen directed this film where Tommy has had to take a rest period but looks to take his revenge against his gang rivals. There is a lot of good action and a good music score from Edwin Starr. You must appreciate the genre to really like this one though. This may be Fred Williamson's first time to be featured on this blog.
Seeing Red (1939): This is my short film for the week which stars Red Skelton as a man who has just gotten fired from his job. When this happens he puts a hex on his boss. When his boss goes to the nightclub it appears to work as everyone he sees is Red hence the title. This short film also showcases other Vaudeville talent from that era like A. Robins, the Merry Macs, and Harris and Shore. Red also has some of his funny material. This was a good 19 minutes of the entertainment industry on that industry.
The Blood of Jesus (1941): I found this on my Pub-D-Hub app on my Roku player which is a public domain film and one I felt fit the month with its religious themes. This takes place in the rural south where an atheist accidentally shoots his Baptist wife who must then journey through the crossroads of life where the Devil is looking to tempt her in any way possible. The budget was very small so the actors were pretty inexperienced but sincere in what they did. It is also a very good look at a southern black community in that era. What I also liked is that they were actual black people and not white actors with blackface. It had a pretty good storyline and message to it so if you can find it, it's not a bad one to watch.
Red River (1948): This is my western for the week which was directed by Howard Hawks. John Wayne stars as Tom Dunson who is a very successful cattle wrangler who with his adopted son Matthew Garth, played by Montgomery Clift, builds a successful cattle empire. Together, along with others begin a massive cattle drive from Texas to the Missouri railhead where they battle a group of Indians but the biggest battle is between Dunson and Garth when Garth gets tired of Dunson's authoritarian ways he takes the heard away from him having Dunson swearing vengeance. I'm not a huge fan of the western genre but feel this one ranks pretty high as well as ranking high among John Wayne films with this being his best in my opinion. Montgomery Clift was also very good in his film debut and would have a great career into the 60s. Clift and co-star John Ireland were having an affair in real-life which made Clift not get along with John Wayne. Through it all, the movie was pulled off very well.
For Queen and Country (1988): This is part two of a two-part Denzel Washington series. I found this early Denzel Washington film on Encore On-Demand. Denzel plays Reuben who has just been discharged from the British military and has been decorated a war hero. He then returns home to find that he is not getting the biggest hero's welcome as he cannot get a job interview. He then falls back into a life of crime. This is a very interesting portrait of the treatment of someone who has given their time for his country only to be stabbed in the back. Denzel was good as a British person and while not Washington's best but still a good movie to watch as long as you don't expect anything upbeat.
Hello, Dolly! (1969): I have actually seen this a couple times this year on stage. One was in the summer put on by the Ricks-Weil group in Greenfield and the other was put on by the Muncie Civic Theater in October. Both productions were pretty good and I thought this movie was very well. It really stayed pretty well towards the stage script where liberties were taken but not much. Barbra Streisand plays the title character of Dolly Levi in this one who is quite the matchmaker and sets out to Yonkers, NY intending to marry the grouchy and wealthy Horace. Walter Matthau is perfectly cast as Horace. Michael Crawford and Danny Lockin play Horace's overworked employees with a rare film appearance from Crawford. There are many subplots to this musical so I'm not going to go through each one but is a very fun musical even if I don't really get it all. Jazz legend Louis Armstrong has a cameo and sings the title song and had a hit song with it.
The Prince of Egypt (1998): This was on my Netflix queue and I thought this Dreamworks animated film of Moses would be good for the season. I thought this was a pretty good version of the man who learns of his true identity and learns of his destiny to lead the Exodus of his people. Val Kilmer provides the voice of Moses while Ralph Fiennes plays his brother Ramses who are close until Moses learns of his identity and they become rivals. Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Stewart, Sandra Bullock, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and many others co-star. It also has some pretty good musical numbers like WHEN YOU BELIEVE which would become a hit song through Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. There is not much to explain except that it is an animated story of Moses and a rather compelling animated film from Dreamworks.
Well, that is it for this week, stay tuned for next week which so far includes more Chris Cooper, Charlize Theron, Shirley Temple, Christina Ricci, James Stewart, and many others. However, keep reading for my honorable mention.
HONORABLE MENTION: COMIC BOOK
My Friend Dahmer (2002): I came upon this rather unexpectedly when I was at my dad's house and my stepmom bought a huge thing of comic books for my nephew Camden. Him and my Dad went through these and most were DC superhero comics but there was this one which I guess could be considered an underground comic which my dad decided he wanted to keep. I did not know what to think at first seeing a comic book about the notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer but last night I decided to give it a look. John Backderf wrote this comic and has a page he wrote on why he wrote this which really took my interest. John Backderf uses the author name of Derf and knew Dahmer in high school and wrote about some times they had together. Describing the kind of outcast he was and looking at moments that at the time were kind of funny but ultimately they were really signs that no one could see. There are no reenactments of his murders, just Dahmer's early days of the man we would know as a serial killer. You can actually get this comic book among others on the author's website of http://www.derfcity.com where you can read some of his things on the website so it might be a good thing to check out. I was very surprised and glad I did not dismiss it like I thought of doing. This is not a tasteless comic, no real violence or gore. Just a true story of a man who wants to raise awareness on a situation where he feels that Dahmer could have been saved if someone noticed the "signs" when they were in high school together.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments
Post a Comment