Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 413th Edition

This is one of my documentaries of the week. This takes a look at our obesity problem here in America. It shows the political fault, education fault, and just the restaurant industry in general. It even takes a religious look where pastors are condemning overweight people as sinners due to gluttony. It also looks at groups like schools and even businesses who are trying to correct this problem. The one that really got me the most was when schools mandated healthy snacks and parents actually protested this. I also liked the brief scenes where they look into where it is just as unhealthy to be way too skinny which is another problem in our society. I have found that even the most shallow of men do not want someone who is too skinny and also took a good luck at that side. The only thing I would have liked to see more though is looking into foreign countries who eat like us but do not have the weight problem like us. This is a very thought provoking documentary that should really be looked upon. This is available on Instant Netflix.

This is my second documentary for the week and this one takes a look at filmmaker Roger Corman. It starts out with his briefly working in Hollywood and not feeling very respected becoming one of the hardest working filmmakers who did just about everything on his own with a very low budget. His career really consists of a lot of b-movies that are science fiction, exploitation, and really just challenged the system. Many refer to him as "The King of the B's" but there is so much more to him. He inspired many filmmakers today and much of today's high profile film industry like Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson, Ron Howard, and many others. Corman really helped the careers of many like Pam Grier and Jack Nicholson. It also takes a look at his help towards the American distribution of a lot of foreign filmmakers like Federico Fellini. Corman has produced and/or directed almost 400 films where some are quite good and others are so bad they are good. You can always expect to be entertained by Corman. His best movies are probably his Poe adaptations that would always star Vincent Price. I would say my favorite of his would be BUCKET OF BLOOD. I also really liked LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS which would go onto become that great musical today where credit must be given where it is due. I liked how both of them focused on a rather nerdy person who resorts to murder in order to get noticed. He also had some exploitive women in prison movies, as well as some pretty decent ones where he makes a statement towards racism and sexism. He is a very daring filmmaker and gets a great tribute here.

This is my animated superhero movie for the week. In this one, Kara Zor-El lands on Earth from Krypton and must really learn about this world. She is a cousin to Superman who wants to help her but Batman remains very suspicious of her. Things take a deadly turn when she is abducted by Superman's enemy Darkseid who takes her to his world of Apokolips in hopes of bringing her to his side. The two title characters along with Wonder Woman and Big Barda set out to rescue her from that world. Barda is someone who used to be a warrior to Darkseid but defected and joins the Justice League. One thing I like abotu this one is the development of Kara into Supergirl. She does not quite have the ideals of her cousin but wants to do good in the world. Voice talent includes Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Andre Braugher, Susan Eisenberg, Summer Glau, Edward Asner, and Tara Strong. This movie has some great action scenes and really shows the strength of each character in a good way. This is available on Instant Netflix.

This is my short film for the week which is a silent short from Buster Keaton. Buster marries a girl named Sybil and they look to make a house which his rival for Sybil sets out to sabotage the plans. Buster makes great use of trying to build a house in twenty minutes leading into some pretty comical scenes. This is actually the first movie where he did not work with his mentor Fatty Arbuckle.

This is my mummy movie for the week which is a Universal film. A couple archaeologists played by Dick Foran and Wallace Ford set out to find the burial place of Egyptian Princess Ananka. In their quest, they encounter a sinister high priest, played by George Zucco, and a mummy named Kharis who are guardians of the tomb. This by no means matches THE MUMMY which is the one time where I felt Universal topped Hammer but this still entertains. This is a more comedic movie which I believe is the first of the four flims to feature the character of Kharis.

This is my Hammer selection for the week and the fourth of their Frankenstein series. Peter Cushing reprises his role as Baron Frankenstein who is at it again and has really become more evil than ever. He then works with a young doctor named Karl, played by Simon Ward, and his fiance Anna, played by Veronica Carlson, kidnap the mentally sick Dr. Brandt to perform a brain transplant. He uses very corrupt methods to get what he wants. Cushing was great as the Baron in this film and was very believable in his character. This is a very good entry into the Hammer series for Frankenstein and prefer their films over Universal.

Mervyn Leroy directed this thriller based on a play by Maxwell Anderson. Patty McCormack stars as Rhoda Penmark who is 8 year old girl who seems very perfect but has a very dark side. Nancy Kelly stars as her mother Christine who slowly begins to realize that her daughter is just a little too perfect. Henry Jones plays Leroy who is a slow-minded yardworker who sees right through Rhoda but has a hard time getting anyone to listen. This was a rather daring film for the time and can really keep your interest without having really violent scenes but still be very disturbing. There is also a rather clever ending to accomodate to the Motion Picture Production Code.

This is clearly the guilty pleasure of the week. Chuck Courtney stars as William Bonney who is more known as gunslinger Billy the Kid. He is trying to get his life together and becomes engaged to be married. John Carradine plays the legendary vampire who decides to go to the old west and targets that fiance by posing as her uncle. Billy the Kid begins to be suspicious among other townspeople. Both people have had much better movies about them but we do have the ultimate battle that many people may never think about. Carradine has played Dracula in the past and has done a good job but really overacts in this one but is pretty fun. This is really one that a bunch of friends should get together and just have a good time.

I figured this would made a good October selection. Takashi Shimizu directs the remake to his own Japanese film. BUFFY alum Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Karen who is an American nurse living in Japan. When getting a job there, she encounters a supernatural vengeful spirit. When a series of deaths occur, she looks to stay alive and break the curse forming her own investigation on how it started. Jason Behr, William Mapother, Clea Duvall, Bill Pullman, and many others co-star. I honestly have not seen the orginal which I am sure is better but Shimizu does a good job making one for the American audiences. This also had a lot of good effects for the spirits.

I end the week with this film written and directed by Kevin Smith who has for years given us the great Jay and Silent Bob comedies but takes a much different turn here. In this film, three teens respond to an ad which is to have a foursome with a 38 year old woman. They find out that she is nothing as she appears and soon they find themselves captive at the fundamentalist Five Points Church which is very similar to the infamous Westboro Baptist Church and an obvious stab to them. Michael Parks stars as Pastor Abin Cooper who kills those he believes sins against the bible which is mostly people dealing in sodomy. He does not feel he is in the wrong because they are not men of God. John Goodman co-stars as ATF agent Joseph Keenan who tries to save them but ends up with a shootout with people in the church which gets very violent. Stephen Root, Melissa Leo, Marc Blucas, and Kevin Pollak co-star. I found this to be very interesting and really liked the premise of it. It was quite dark and was interesting seeing that both sides were in the wrong in some ways. Parks did a great job as the corrupt preacher. Smith did a good job of making the most of a low budget. The portrayal of the church was pretty realistic besides the killing but maybe that is not as far fetched as we think though I do not believe WBC is quite to that extreme and even acknowledged that in the film. This movie is available on Instant Netflix.