Welcome to the 983rd edition of my series. I hope everyone is doing well in these crazy times. For those of you in and around my area, I'm competing in Downtown Idol in Downtown Muncie during Muncie Artswalk on Thursday. It starts at 5:30 so I don't really know when I will be going. I will shut up and get on with my selections for the week.
Living Proof (2008): Don Ireland directed this Lifetime tv movie which is based on a true story. Harry Connick Jr. stars as Dr. Dennis Slamon who dedicates his life to looking for a cure for breast cancer that goes beyond chemotherapy. When finally developing something that he thought would finally be progressive, he must deal with his superiors. Tammy Blanchard, Amanda Bynes, Jennifer Coolidge, Angie Harmon, John Benjamin Hickey, Regina King, Swoosie Kurtz, Paula Cale, Amy Madigan, Bernadette Peters, Trudie Styler, Bruce McKinnon, Jackson Hurst, Tom Nowicki, and many others co-star in this tv movie. This is a very feel-good movie and is rather inspirational. It is a true story about not giving up and making progress to curing cancer.
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997): Roger Spottiswoode directed this Bond film which is based on the character created by Ian Fleming. Pierce Brosnan reprises his role of James Bond in his second outing of 007. Bond teams with Chinese agent Wai Lin, played by Michelle Yeoh, and must go after the corrupt media mogul Elliott Carver, played by Jonathan Pryce, who is making his own news coverage in hopes of starting a war between Britain and China. Teri Hatcher, Ricky Jay, Gotz Otto, Joe Don Baker, Vincent Schiavelli, Judi Dench, Desmond Llewelyn, Samantha Bond, Colin Salmon, Geoffrey Palmer, Julian Fellowes, Terence Rigby, Cecilie Thomsen, Nina Young, Gerard Butler, and many others co-star in this Bond film. This is a lot of high-octane fun with a great Bond girl in Yeoh. The previous film GOLDENEYE was criticized some for having a lack of gadgetry and they make up for it in full in this one.
Emily the Criminal (2022): John Patton Ford wrote and directed this independent film. Aubrey Plaza stars as Emily who is struggling in with her high student debt and has a hard time finding a good job due to her criminal record. She comes across work where she becomes a "dummy shopper" and buys goods with a stolen credit card. Theo Rossi co-stars as Youcef who is the middleman of the criminal scheme. Bernardo Badillo, Janice Sonia Lee, Wesley Han, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Brandon Sklenar, Amje Elharden, Jonathan Avigdori, and many others co-star in this film. Plaza puts on a great performance as a struggling young adult. It is also a very well-written script on the struggle for someone in debt and someone with a criminal record. This is available to watch on TUBI.
Ars (1959): This is my French documentary short for the week which was directed by Jacques Temy. This takes a look at Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianny who was the pastor of Ars in Auvergne who had very strict habits. Demy narrates this short talking about Vianny's extreme measures as a priest and trying to understand him. This would also be the start of a great career for Temy who did some short films first. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
The General (1926): Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton directed this silent comedy. Keaton stars as train engineer Johnny Gray and he loves his Annabelle Lee, played by Marion Mack. This takes place in the Civil War times where it was every man's duty to fight in the war. When trying to enlist, Johnny is rejecting with the thought that he was too valuable in his work to join leaving Annabelle to believe he is a coward. He gets brought in anyway when Union spies take his train "the General" with Annabelle on board. Glen Cavender and Jim Farley co-star in this comedy. This is one of the most popular silent films of all time. Keaton gives lots of funny moments within a very serious situation.
Ten Little Indians (1974): Peter Collinson directed this movie which is based on the novel by Agatha Christie. Oliver Reed, Elka Sommer, Richard Attenborough, Stephane Audran, Gert Frobe, Herbert Lom, Maria Rohm, Adolfo Celi, Alberto de Mendoza, and Charles Aznavour are all invited to an isolated desert in the Iranian desert by someone named U.N. Owen, voiced by Orson Welles. When there, a cassette tape plays and accuses each of them of a crime they got away with where they die one by one. They finally realize that the killer is one of them and must figure out who they can trust. This is a pretty good adaptation of the popular story. I believe this story inspired the SAW franchise and even CLUE. Where can we go wrong with a couple Bond villains from the Connery era. This is available to watch on Kanopy.
Song Sung Blue (2025): Craig Brewer directed this biopic which is based on the 2008 documentary of the same name by Greg Kohs. Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson star as married couple Mike and Claire Sardina who form a Neil Diamond cover band called Lightning and Thunder. They would become rather successful, even getting the attention of Eddie Vedder, played by John Beckwith, who would have them open for Pearl Jam. They would go onto have a lot of triumph but also a lot of heartbreak along the way. Ella Anderson, Hudson Hensley, King Princess, Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, Mustafa Shakir, Jayson Warner Smith, Cecelia Riddett, Sean Allan Krill, Jim Conroy, Kena Anae, Darius Rose, Shyaporn Theerakulstit, Chacha Tahng, and many others co-star in this biopic. I feel this was a tribute to the cover bands that are out there today. I also believe this is the first biopic to be based on a cover band. This also took a really deep look into mental health with some issues Claire was having. Jackman and Hudson made a great duo in this film. This is available to watch on Peacock.
The Deadly Trap (1971): Rene Clement directed this film which is based on the novel THE CHILDREN ARE GONE by Arthur Cavanaugh. Frank Langella and Faye Dunaway star as married couple Philippe and Jill who are living in Paris with their two children. They are having issues where Frank is troubled at work to do illegal activities and Jill is mentally unstable. The children go missing making it more difficult for Jill and leaves questions for her mental state. Barbara Perkins, Maurice Ronet, Gerard Buhr, Jill Larson, and many others co-star in this film. This is a slow burn sort of thriller. It is hard to explain beyond what I already did. Dunaway puts on a great performance as the unstable mother. This is available to watch on Prime.
The Great Dictator (1940): Charles Chaplin directed and wrote this very thinly veiled satire on the Holocaust. Chaplin stars in a dual role where he plays the dictator Adenoid Hynkel who has an awful lot of resemblance to Adolf Hitler and he plays a Jewish barber who is trying to avoid persecution. His role of the barber is more like his typical role of the Tramp while playing Hynkel was quite different. Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner, Henry Daniell, Billy Gilbert, Grace Hayle, Carter DeHaven, Maurice Moscovich, Emma Dunn, Bernard Gorcey, Paul Weigel, and many others co-star in this comedy. This was a very daring film at the time as Hitler was still in power and even banned it in German and all Nazi-occupied countries though he is said to have obtained a copy and watched it. At the end, there is a great speech which still resonates today. This is available on HBO Max, Plex, Pluto TV, and Indieflix shorts which requires a Prime subscription.
52 Pick-Up (1986): I end the week with this film which was directed by John Frankenheimer and based on the novel by Elmore Leonard who also co-wrote the screenplay. Roy Scheider stars as L.A. construction magnate Harry Mitchell who has an extramarital affair with a stripper named Cini, played by Kelly Preston. A tape surfaces from three blackmailers lead by Alan, played by John Glover, who has a lot of monetary demands. Ann-Margret co-stars as Harry's wife Barbara who gets caught in the middle of the blackmail. Vanity, Robert Trebor, Lonny Chapman, Doug McClure, Clarence Williams III, Alex Henteloff, and many others co-star in this action film. If anyone has experience with Elmore Leonard novels, they will know they are always rather complex in the story and in the characters and this is no different. Glover might be one of the most despicable villains of all time. The story could get a little convoluted at times but it kept my attention. This comes from Cannon films which always managed to put out some interesting works. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel, MGM +, TUBI, and Pluto TV.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike I will be back in a couple weeks with the next one which so far includes Julianne Nicholson, Jessica Chastain, Demi Moore, Katherine Hepburn, Kevin Bacon, and many others.
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