Welcome to the 961st edition of my series. This week starts the real season of the NFL, so I hope things go my way this year in both fantasy and reality. I was supposed to be in ARSENIC AND OLD LACE in Rushville October 23-26 but that ended up getting postponed into sometime next year. In the process, I took a role in a murder mystery comedy called MUCH ADO ABOUT MURDER where I make my debut for the Imagine Performing Arts in Connersville, Indiana. That show will be the week of October 24-26 and October 31-November 2.
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998): Guy Ritchie directed this British heist comedy. Four small-time criminals in Eddie, played by Nick Moran, Tom, played by Jason Flemyng, Bacon, played by Jason Statham, and Soap, played by Dexter Fletcher, come up with the money needed for the card sharp Eddie to play in a high-stakes poker game. This game is run by "Hatchet" Harry Lonsdale, played by P.H. Moriarty, who manages to rig the game and is owed a lot of money. Sting, Steven Mackintosh, Nicholas Rowe, Vinnie Jones, Peter McNicholl, Lenny McLean, Frank Harper, Steve Sweeney, Stephen Marcus, and many others co-star in this comedy. What I gave was the basic plot and there is a lot more to it which is an understatement to say the least. Jones makes his film debut having had some controversy in football aka soccer as we call it here which gave him some unexpected success. This is Ritchies debut where he is able to combine comedy, violence, and a good soundtrack. Statham makes his film debut and would go onto become quite the action star. This has become a British cult classic and may need a couple viewings as it can be a bit convoluted at times.
Here Today (2021): Billy Crystal directed this film which is based on the short story THE PRIZE by Alan Sweibel. Crystal also stars as veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz who ends up getting a blind date with the much younger Emma Payge, played by Tiffany Haddish. Things go wrong when Emma suffers an allergic reaction to seafood but they form an unlikely friendship despite the generation gap in age. Dierdre Friel, Alex Brightman, Matthew Broussard, Susan Pourfar, Gianmarco Soresi, Sarah Stiles, Joanna Adler, Justin Linville, Brandon Uranowitz, Andrew Durand, and many others co-star in this film. This movie is funny, sad, touching, and beautiful. Crystal and Haddish were great together and I feel this movie helps redefine the possibilities of what a relationship could mean. This also does a really good job of showing the price of bitterness which in this case was among Charlie's grown kids. This is very underrated and I'll just go out on a limb and say it is his best.
The Good Liar (2019): Bill Condon directed this film which is based on the novel by Nicholas Searle. Ian McKellan stars as con man Roy Courtnay who has his sites on the recently widowed Betty McLeish, played by Helen Mirren. As Roy starts the con, he finds himself caring about Betty and things start to become dangerous for him. Stephen Tovey, Jim Carter, Mark Lewis Jones, Laurie Davidson, Phil Dunster, Lucian Msamati, Johannes Hauker Johannesson, Tunji Kasim, Spike White, Stella Stocker, Daniel Betts, Nell Williams, Celine Buckens, Lily Dodsworth-Evans, and many others co-star in this film. This has some interesting twists and turns and would probably give things away if I say too much. This uses flashbacks and connects to the modern times making it come together very well.
Bath Day (1946): This is my animated short for the week which was directed by Charles Nichols. This features Minnie Mouse and her pet cat Figaro who gets a bath from Minnie. Minnie ties a ribbon around Figaro's neck which gets him made fun of by the alley cats. Figaro was originally Geppetto's cat in PINNOCHIO and Walt liked the character so much that he made him into Minnie Mouse's pet cat. This is available to watch on Disney Plus.
Dracula (1931): Tod Browning directed this film which is based on the novel by Bram Stoker and the play by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston. Bela Lugosi stars as the most iconic vampire of all time in Dracula who moves from Transylvania to London where he targets Mina, played by Helen Chandler. Edward Van Sloan co-stars as Dracula's rival Van Helsing who must convince others that Dracula is a vampire. David Manners, Dwight Frye, Herbert Bunston, Frances Dade, and many otehrs co-star in this horror classic. This is probably the most iconic adaptation of the vampire legend and helped a lot for the horror genre. What more can be said about this classic film?
The Magnificent Butcher (1979): This is my martial arts film for the week which was directed by Yuen Woo-Ping. Sammo Hung stars as Lam Sai-Wing who is a student of Wong Fei-Hong, played by Tak-Hing Kwan, and their local butcher. Lam soon gets caught up in a feud with a rival dojo and gets framed for murder. Like Jackie Chan, Hung is known for his slapstick comedy that goes along with the martial arts. This is more for those who enjoy the Hong Kong martial arts and a look at a much younger Sammo Hung. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
Mass (2021): Fran Kranz wrote and directed this film of trying to deal with a tragedy in his directorial debut. Two sets of parents agree to meet up in hopes of moving forward. Reed Birney and Ann Dowd star as married couple Richard and Linda whose son murdered the son of Jay and Gail, played by Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton, in a school shooting. Brenda Wool, Kagen Albright, and Michelle N. Carter co-star in this film. As expected, this gets very deep and is not always easy. The movie is full of many emotions and is so well done. It has a WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF feel to it in my opinion. This would be perfect for a studio theater to do as a play. This is available to watch on Paramount Plus.
Sudden Fear (1952): David Miller directed this Film Noir which is based on the novel by Edna Sherry. Joan Crawford stars as playwright Myra Stone who marries actor Lester Blaine, played by Jack Palance. She seems so happy until she learns that Lester has a mistress in Irene, played by Gloria Grahame, and is plotting a murder. Bruce Bennett, Virginia Taylor, Mike Connors, and many others co-star in this Film Noir. This is quite the cat and mouse game where roles change a lot. This movie helped Palance get on the map in his career and Grahame was perfect for the kind of role she played. This is available to watch on Kanopy, TUBI, and Cohen Media Channel.
Naked Childhood (1968): This is my French film for the week which was directed and co-written by Maurice Pialat. Michel Terrazon stars as foster child Francois who resorts to mischief and lies as the latest foster family does what they can to care for him. Marie-Louise Thierry and Rene Thierry were real-life foster parents and were cast as the foster parents having met with the director who was doing research on foster care. This is a look at the screwed-up world of foster care and how difficult it can be for a child. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
I'm Not a Robot (2023): I end the week with this short film which was written and directed by Victoria Warmerdam. Ellen Parren stars as music producer Lara who becomes concerned of who she is after repeatedly failing many CAPTCHA tests. Henry Van Loon, Thekla Reuten, and Juliette van Ardenne co-star in this short film. I know we all know about those CAPTCHA tests and had no idea of the acronym of it until watching this. There are some interesting twists in this short film where some of us might ask ourselves if we are a robot. This is available to watch on Youtube.
Well, that is it for this week, but I am bringing back my segment "Tube Time". tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned the next couple of weeks which so far includes Rosario Dawson, Elizabeth Banks, Judy Garland, Steve McQueen, and many others.
TUBE TIME
After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun (2024): This is a documentary mini-series which was directed by Matthew Felker. This goes in-depth into the behind-the-scenes world of the popular series BAYWATCH. This goes into the beginnings of the series and the roller coaster of fame that came along with it. Jaason Simmons, Pamela Anderson, Erika Eleniak, Kelly Packard, David Hasselhoff, Alexandra Paul, Nicole Eggert, Jeremy Jackson, Gregory Alan Williams, Billy Warlock, Carmen Electra, and many others. When I was in middle school, I would usually watch an episode of this show when I would get home from school. As much as I liked Pamela Anderson, I was always more into Nicole Eggert and Yasmine Bleeth. This is a four-episode series which covered a lot of ground, and I suppose it could have covered more. I personally would have liked to see more on Yasmine Bleeth. I thought the best part of this was with Jeremy Jackson who played Hobie and grew up on the show. This shows how he went off the deep end but came out on the other side. This is probably of most interest to those who know the tv series. This is available to watch on Hulu.
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