Love old or unusual movies but never know when they’re on? Here are several I recommend:
Berserk (1967): Few things are campier and funnier than the wonderfully wretched melodramas Joan Crawford made at the twilight of her career. In Berserk she plays the owner and operator of a circus that for some weird reason is touring England. When a series of grisly murders interrupts her wildly unlikely romance with a studly young acrobat, you’re supposed to wonder if Joan is the murderess ... or the next victim. The movie’s most surreal moment comes when the surviving circus performers do an actual song-and-dance number about the mysterious killings. This is one of those screamers that has to be seen to be believed.
Friday at 10 p.m. on Turner Classic Movies.
Class Action Park (2020): Talk about a guilty pleasure! Action Park was a trashy theme park in Vernon, New Jersey, from 1978 to 1996. Its signature was a lack of rules and safety standards. Naturally, this made it insanely popular with teenagers. Unfortunately, most of the park’s employees were also teenagers. Much fun and bloody mayhem ensued. This is not a particularly serious documentary, but as someone who vividly remembers the incessant TV ads that played in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut market all through the 1980s, I gleefully enjoyed all of the horror stories about this fun and reprehensible place.
Now streaming on HBO MAX.
The Lie (2018): Here’s one of my favorite movies about terrible parenting. Peter Sarsgaard and Mireille Enos are a middle-aged, divorced-but-friendly ex-couple with a teenage daughter (Joey King). When things go terribly wrong after Dad and daughter give her friend (Devery Jacobs) a ride, get comfortable. Because you’re going to get to sit back and watch these well-meaning parents make one terrible decision after another. Seriously, it’s like watching a slow-motion car wreck that turns into a five-alarm fire. Cas Anvar is terrific as the friend’s father. Not the most realistic movie, perhaps, but an interesting and compelling study of hidden pathology. Prepare to be creeped out.
Now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Moneyball (2011): For a writer who focuses mainly on politics and finance, Michael Lewis has had a pretty terrific Hollywood career. His books were the basis of the films The Blind Side (2009), The Big Short (2015) and the upcoming Liar’s Poker. Moneyball tells the fascinating story of how the Oakland A’s manager — former Major League Baseball player Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) — used math and statistics to build a winning team on a budget that couldn’t compete with the big clubs. Jonah Hill got an Oscar nomination for his delightful turn as a nerdy quant, and Pitt was nominated for best actor for his sensational performance. His best scene: a remarkable series of simultaneous phone conversations working out a trade in real time.
Now streaming on Netflix.
Bryan native Ray Ivey is a writer and movie fan in Hollywood, Calif. He would love to hear from you at rayivey@ca.rr.com. You can also visit his blog at www.starkravingray.com.
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November 08, 2020 at 01:00PM
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RAY'S PIX: Circus mystery 'Berserk' is campy and funny - Bryan-College Station Eagle
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Funny
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