Welcome to the 945th Edition of my series. I'll just start by saying I hope everyone is doing what they can to get through these times. I'm still here to give some recommendations. We are close to the Super Bowl, so mostly what I want is the Chiefs to be prevented from a three-peat. I will just shut up and get to my selections for the week.
Queen of Earth (2015): Alex Ross Perry wrote and directed this psychological drama. Elizabeth Moss and Katherine Waterston are longtime friends Catherine and Virginia, who retreat to a lake house only to find they have drifted apart. Patrick Fugit co-stars as Rich who is a friend of Virginia and seems rather toxic. Kentucky Audley, Keith Poulson, Kate Lyn Sheil, and many others co-star in this film. This is really hard to explain as it leaves a lot open to the viewer to decide in my opinion. Moss and Waterston put on good performances where role reversal seems to happen a lot. Again, it is a psychological film so that is the best explanation I have. This is available to watch on AMC +, the Roku Channel, Pluto TV, IFC Films Unlimited, and MUBI.
The Great Gatsby (2013): This is part one of a possible five-part Joel Edgerton series. Baz Luhrmann directed this film based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tobey Maguire stars as writer and Wall Street trader Nick Carraway and is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, the mysterious Jay Gatsby, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, during the Jazz Age. Edgerton co-stars as Tom Buchanan who has a hatred of Gatsby. Carey Mulligan, Amitabh Bachchan, Steve Bisley, Richard Carter, Jason Clarke, Adalaide Clemens, Vince Colosimo, Max Cullen, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, and many others co-star in this Fitzgerald adaptation. Luhrmann does this film the Baz Luhrmann way which partly is making music that does not fit the time period somehow work. It is also a very colorful film to say the least and has a lot of authenticity to the time period. This also gets very deep and intense as time goes on in this movie.
A Perfect World (1993): Clint Eastwood directed this film which was written by John Lee Hancock. Kevin Costner stars as prison escapee Butch Haynes who in a botched crime, kidnaps a boy named Phillip, played by T.J. Lowther. Phillip soon takes a liking to his kidnapper and Butch becomes a father figure to him while they are being pursued. Eastwood co-stars as Texas Ranger Red Garnett and teams with criminologist Sally Gerber, played by Laura Dern, to track down Butch. Keith Szarabajka, Leo Burmester, Paul Hewitt, Bradley Whitford, Ray McKinnon, Jennifer Griffin, Daryl Cox, Bruce McGill, and many others co-star in this film. Costner puts on a very good performance in this film and is rather underrated. This was strangely moving with the performances on Costner and Lowther in his debut.
Stairway to Light (1945): This is my short film for the week which is part of "John Nesbitt's Passing Parade" series. John Nesbitt narrates this historical short which takes a look at 18th century French physician Dr. Phillipe Pinel, played by Wolfgang Zilzer. Pinel became the head of an asylum during the French Revolution and was dismayed to see the treatment of the mentally ill. He looked for more humane ways to treat and possibly cure them. This was an interesting look at the mentally ill from the time period.
The Blockhouse (1973): This is part four of my four-part Peter Sellers series. Clive Rees directed this film which is based on the novel by Jean-Paul Clebert. This takes place on D-Day where a group of forced laborers held by German forces take shelter in a German bunker only to be trapped for many years. Peter Sellers, Charles Aznavour, Jeremy Kemp, Per Oscarsson, Nicholas Jones, and Leon Lissek star in this film. This is a pretty dark film on trying to survive and not easy to watch. It was good seeing Sellers in a more dramatic role which is what got my interest. This is available to watch on Hoopla, Tubi, and Fawesome.
The Razor's Edge (1946): Edmund Goulding directed this film which is based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Tyrone Power stars as Larry Darrell who prefers a life of adventure to a big career. This turns off his fiancée Isabel, played by Gene Tierney, and the engagement is off. About a decade later, Isabel is married but a reunion with Larry, she still has feelings and tries to sabotage his own relationship with the troubled Sophie, played by Anne Baxter. John Payne, Clifton Webb, Herbert Marshall, Lucile Watson, Frank Latimore, Elsa Lanchester, Fritz Kortner, and many others co-star in this film. I am sorry to those who might have thought I was featuring a biopic on wrestling legend Scott Hall. Instead, you get a rather complex and complicated love drama. Power had been away with WWII, and this was his first movie upon his return to Hollywood. This is a good story on love and betrayal through the years that holds up pretty well.
The Last Showgirl (2024): Gia Coppola directed this film which is written by Kate Gersten. Pamela Anderson stars as middle-aged showgirl Shelly who has spent most of her life in this world only to learn that her show is closing after a 30-year run. She faces an existential crisis when being faced with the reality that her best days are behind her and must reflect on the ups and downs in her life. Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, WWE Hall of Famer Dave Bautista, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billie Lourd, Linda Montana, Jason Schwartzman, and many others co-star in this film. Pamela Anderson finally gets a very meaningful role and makes the most of it. I will not lie, when I was watching the Golden Globes and she was nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, I was rooting for her as I have kind of grown up with her with BAYWATCH and all. She may not have won but that was okay as this led me to check this out at the movie theater. Jamie Lee Curtis was also really good as Shelly's best friend Annette and was a different sort of role for her as well in my opinion. When watching this, it reminded me some of the movie THE WRESTLER in which the main character has trouble adjusting when the only thing they have known is coming to an end. That could be a good double feature sometime. I was glad to give the theater my money to support this film, and I feel others should as well.
Blackmail (1929): This was introduced as part of the new monthly series the Public Domain Theatre by Dennis the Library Menace. Alfred Hitchcock directed this British thriller which is based on the play of the same name by Charles Bennett. Anny Ondry stars as Alice White who has killed a man in self-defense but has no way to prove it so she tries to cover it up. Her own boyfriend Frank Webber, played by John Longden, is assigned the case and gets blackmailed by someone named Tracy, played by Donald Calthrop, who claims to have seen the killing. Sara Allgood, Charles Paton, Cyril Ritchard, Hannah Jones, and many others co-star in this film. This was originally shot as a silent film but with the rise of talkies, the studio wanted some scenes reshot with sound. The first few minutes appear to be a silent film and then they finally start talking so this is Hitchcock's first talkie and the first British talkie. This also has the first record of "dubbing". Anny Ondry had a Czech accent that was hard to understand so Hitch had actress Joan Barry speak the lines as Ondry mouthed them. This is a pretty decent suspense film that has entered the public domain this year having become the public domain age of 95 years old. This is available to watch on Prime, Tubi, Plex, the Roku Channel, and on Youtube which was how it was presented at the event.
Love and Death (1975): Woody Allen wrote and directed this satire of Russian literature. Allen also stars as neurotic Russian soldier Boris who is forced into war but is afraid to go to war. His distant cousin Sonya, played by Diane Keaton, advises Boris to help her in a plan to assassinate Napoleon which goes comedically wrong. Edmond Ardisson, Feodor Atkine, Yves Barsacq, Lloyd Battista, Olga Georges-Picot, Harold Gould, Jessica Harper, Tony Jay, Tutte Lemkow, Anne Lonnberg, James Tolkan, and many others co-star in this film. This has the usual sort of Woody Allen humor that centers around czar Russia. This also has some good parody moments among Russian literature and foreign films. This is hard to explain beyond what I have but it is available to watch on Pluto TV.
The Straight Story (1999): This is my homage to David Lynch who recently left us. Lynch directed this film which is based on a true story. Richard Farnsworth stars as Alvin Straight who is a very stubborn 73-year-old man. He learns that his brother estranged brother Lyle is in bad health and decides he needs to visit and make peace before they die. The trip will be very long, and he no longer holds a license to drive. He sets out to go from Laurens, Iowa to his brother's town of Mount Zion, Wisconsin on a riding lawnmower with a trailer compartment behind it. Along the way, he meets some new people, and some help him to continue his trip. Sissy Spacek, Dan Flannery, Everett McGill, Bill McCallum, Barbara E. Robertson, Barbara Kingsley, Wiley Harker, Kevin P. Farley, John Farley, Harry Dean Stanton, and many others co-star in this film. Usually, Lynch is known for his rather weird and bizarre films and takes a different turn in this one with Disney produced film. This is Farnsworth's last movie as he was terminally ill during filming but could not pass up this opportunity to portray a man he admired. This is a very moving story and takes the road trip film to a whole new level. This is available to watch on Disney Plus.
Well, that is it for this week, but I did bring back my segment "Fun and "Useless Facts" so read on that one. Tell me what you like and dislike and in two weeks I will return in February in an edition that centers around Black History Month which so far includes Sidney Poitier, Jeffrey Wright, Cynthia Erivo, Terrence Howard, Will Smith, and many others.
FUN AND USELESS FACTS
I brought back this segment for the week where I focus on the inter-connections of the ten selections. I also limit it to 25 facts, so I am sure there plenty I have missed and feel free to comment.
Patrick Fugit (Queen of Earth) and Jason Schwartzman (The Last Showgirl) were in the 2002 comedy SPUN.
Patrick Fugit (Queen of Earth) and Tobey Maguire (The Great Gatsby) were in the 2022 film BABYLON.
Patrick Fugit (Queen of Earth) and Jason Clarke (The Great Gatsby) were in the 2018 FIRST MAN.
Elizabeth Moss (Queen of Earth) and Jason Schwartzman (The Last Showgirl) were in the 2021 comedy THE FRENCH DISPATCH.
Elizabeth Moss (Queen of Earth) and Kiernan Shipka (The Last Showgirl) were in the AMC series MAD MEN.
Elizabeth Moss (Queen of Earth) and Bradley Whitford (A Perfect World) were in the tv series THE HANDMAID'S TALE.
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby) was directed by Clint Eastwood (A Perfect World) in the 2011 biopic J. EDGAR.
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby) plays Romeo in the 1996 film ROMEO + JULIET. My Facebook friend Jim played Romeo in a 2013 version of the Shakespeare play where I played Paris and was killed by Romeo.
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby) was directed by Woody Allen (Love and Death) in the 1998 film CELEBRITY.
Tobey Maguire (The Great Gatsby) and Harry Dean Stanton (The Straight Story) were in the 1998 film FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS.
Tobey Maguire (The Great Gatsby) and Woody Allen (Love and Death) were in the 1997 comedy DECONSTRUCTING HARRY.
Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby) and Dave Bautista (The Last Showgirl) were in the 2017 film GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 and in the 2023 film GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3.
Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby) and Laura Dern (A Perfect World) were in the 2018 film THE TALE.
Isla Fisher (The Great Gatsby) and Sissy Spacek (The Straight Story) were in the 2007 comedy HOT ROD.
Laura Dern (A Perfect World) was directed by David Lynch (The Straight Story director) in the 1986 film BLUE VELVET.
Laura Dern (A Perfect World) and Harry Dean Stanton (The Straight Story) were in the 1990 film WILD AT HEART which was directed by DAVID LYNCH.
Laura Dern (A Perfect World) and Billie Lourd (The Last Showgirl) were in the 2017 movie STAR WARS EPISODE VIII- THE LAST JEDI.
Kevin Costner (A Perfect World) and Sissy Spacek (The Straight Story) were husband and wife in the 1991 film JFK.
Clint Eastwood (A Perfect World) and Everett McGill (The Straight Story) were in the 1986 war movie HEARTBREAK RIDGE.
Clint Eastwood (A Perfect World) and Harry Dean Stanton (The Straight Story) were in the 1970 war film KELLY'S HEROES.
Bradley Whitford (A Perfect World) and Jason Schwartzman (The Last Showgirl) were in the 2013 film SAVING MR. BANKS.
Bradley Whitford (A Perfect World) plays Van Helsing in the 2023 podcast series MINA AND LUCY'S GUIDE TO SLAY DRACULA. My Facebook friend Matthew played Van Helsing in a 2018 version of DRACULA at the Richmond Civic Theater where I got to play a bucket list role of Renfield.
Ray McKinnon (A Perfect World) and Sissy Spacek (The Straight Story) were in the 1995 movie THE GRASS HARP.
Peter Sellers (The Blockhouses) and Woody Allen (Love and Death) were in the 1967 Bond parody CASINO ROYALE.
Diane Keaton (Love and Death) and Harry Dean Stanton (The Straight Story) were in the 1974 film THE GODFATHER PART II where Stanton plays one of the FBI guys.
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