The Further Adventures of Walt's Frozen Head (2018):  This was shown a couple weeks ago in Farmland as part of the "Don't Shoot the Projectionist" series where a group of people do some riffing.  Former Muncie resident Benjamin Lancaster wrote and directed this movie which takes place at Disney World.  Walt Disney, played by Ron Schneider, never fully died and his head was frozen cryogenically so that he could oversee his company on a yearly basis.  Daniel Cooksley stars as Disney World employee Peter Carter who accidentally stumbles upon Walt's head and Walt asks him to kidnap him for the day to take around to Magic Kingdom.  Kate Jenkins, Jaiden Anderson, Jason Anderson, Taisha Perez, Susan White, Jeff Evans, Paul Saulo, Ann Ayres, Barbara Eaker, and many others co-star in this movie.  This was a rather clever film and a disclaimer before the movie is placed on there that they filmed at Disney World without their permission.  Schneider was one of the original actors to play the Dreamfinder in the Epcot ride Journey Into Imagination in 1983 and now plays Walt's Head.  This has always been a legend regarding the freezing of Walt's head and now this movie brings it to life.  This is available to watch on Youtube.

The Toothache of a Clown (1972):  This was the short film that the "Don't Shoot the Projectionist" folk opened with and is part of the Encyclopedia Brittanica series.  David W. Culver and Milan Herzog directed this short.  This is about a clown that gets a toothache and along with it has a really weird dream sequence.  This has been riffed by Rifftrax and I have idea if Milan Herzog is related to Werner Herzog.

The Little Shop of Horrors (1960):  This was shown a couple weeks ago at Roscoe's Coffee Shop in the Obsidian Cinema part of the place.  In the musical, Seymour Krelborn is an orphan but, in this movie, he lives with his mother Winifred, played by Myrtle Vail, who is very needy toward her son.  She is also a very unorthodox cook so just watch the movie and you will know what I'm talking about.  Roger Corman directed and co-wrote this classic B-movie about a carnivorous plant.  Jonathan Haze stars as the clumsy Seymour Krelborn who works in a flower shop and is on thin ice with his boss Gravis Mushnick, played by Mel Welles.  Seymour manages to save his job through a hybrid plant which he calls Audrey Jr. after his co-worker Audrey, played by Jackie Joseph.  He finds that his plant favors human blood making him commit misdeeds to keep his newfound fame and popularity.  Dick Miller, Myrtle Vail, Karyn Kupcinet, Toby Michaels, Leola Wendorff, Wally Campo, Jack Warford, Meri Welles, Jack Nicholson, and many others co-star in horror comedy.  This would give way to the popular musical we know today and where I got to play Mr. Mushnik.  A young Nicholson has an amusing bit role as a dental patient and had only been in a couple other movies before this one.  This would be a good double feature to go along with Corman's BUCKET OF BLOOD which has similar themes.  This is available to watch on Prime, MGM+, Fandor, Shout! Factory TV, Pluto TV, TUBI, The Roku Channel, and Fawesome.

Top Secret! (1984):  This is part two of my four-part Val Kilmer series where Kilmer makes his film debut.  Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker directed this comedy.  Kilmer stars as American rock singer Nick Rivers who is in East Germany for a cultural festival.  When there, he falls in love with French resistance member Hillary Flammond, played by Lucy Gutteridge, and accidentally becomes involved with the resistance against East Germany.  Omar Sharif, Jeremy Kemp, Warren Clarke, Gertan Klauber, John Sharp, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This mostly spoofs Elvis movies, spy films from the Cold War era, and WWII films.  The directing trio also directed AIRPLANE and the NAKED GUN movies, but this one is a more overlooked movie.  Kilmer made a very good debut in this film to start quite a career.  This delivers the laughs and is worth a look.

Hell Drivers (1957):  Cy Endfield directed and co-wrote this truck driving Film Noir.  Stanley Baker stars as Tom Yately who is an ex-con looking to be able to move forward with his life.  He takes a job with the Hawlett Trucking company where they transport gravel.  He also finds that they are a corrupt company and soon tries to expose the corruption.  Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, Patrick McGoohan, William Hartnell, Wilfred Lawson, Sidney James, Jill Ireland, Alfie Bass, Gordon Jackson, David McCallum, Sean Connery, and many others co-star in this Film Noir.  A pre-007 Connery is in his first year of feature film appearances.  Endfield was part of the Hollywood blacklist and relocated to London to continue his career.  This is a really good story of an overbearing and corrupt workplace.  This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel and Prime.

Mother (2009):  This would be very fitting for Mother's Day seeing as the word is in the title.  Bong Joon Ho directed this South Korean thriller.  Kim Hye-Ja stars as the title character who quietly lives with her developmentally disabled son Do-Joon, played by Won Bin.  Do-Joon is soon charged with the brutal murder of a young girl, and his mother sets out to prove his innocence.  The mother goes through some very extreme measures to prove her son's innocence.  Jin Goo, Yun Je-Mun, Jeon Mi-Seon, Song Sae-Byeok, Chun Woo-Hee, Go Gyu-Pil, and many others co-star in this film.  Bong Joon Ho would many years come out with the very popular and award-winning film PARASITE which features just about every genre in some way.  This is kind of like that as well where we look at flawed and everyday people going to extreme measures to do what they must.  This is not easy to watch at times but is extremely intriguing.  This is available to watch on Peacock, Prime, TUBI, the Roku Channel, and Plex.

The Good Earth (1937):  The character of O-Lan would become a mother in this film.  Sidney Franklin directed this film which is based on the novel by Pearl S. Buck.  Paul Muni stars as Wang who is a Chinese farmer and marries O-Lan, played by Luise Rainer.  At first, they are successful while also building a family, but famine makes things difficult for them.  Walter Connolly, Tilly Losch, Charley Grapewin, Jessie Ralph, Soo Yung, Keye Luke, Ching Wah Lee, and many others co-star in this film.  Yes, American actors were playing Chinese people which was a little more acceptable in that era.  Muni does a good job in his portrayal.  It is a really good story of a family through the ages in all of their ups and downs, and I understand is very faithful to Buck's novel.  Maybe one day, we'll get a remake with some of the top Chinese actors.

A Thousand and One (2023):  A.V. Rockwell directed and wrote this independent film in her directorial debut.  Teyana Taylor stars as Inez who has just gotten out of jail.  She makes the decision to kidnap her son Terry, played by actors Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, and Josiah Cross in different ages, from foster care.  They look to make it in a rapidly changing New York City.  William Catlett, Delissa Reynolds, Amelia Workman, Adriane Lenox, Gavin Schlosser, Jolly Swag, Jennean Farmer, and many others co-star in this independent film.  This falls into that character study category I believe.  It is a brutally honest character study of raising a child in an urban neighborhood and the scenery speaks for itself.  This is available to watch on Starz.  

Mildred Pierce (1945):  This could be a good Mother's Day watch.  Michael Curtiz directed this Film Noir which is based on the novel by James M. Cain.  Joan Crawford stars as the title character whose husband Bert, played by Bruce Bennett, leaves her for another woman.  Mildred struggles to support her daughters but opens a successful business and tries to support her ungrateful daughter Veda, played by Ann Blyth.  Things get complicated for her when her second husband Monte, played by Zachary Scott, is murdered.  Jack Carson, Eve Arden, Lee Patrick, Moroni Olsen, Veda Ann Borg, Jo Ann Matthews, Butterfly McQueen, and many others co-star in this film.  This is possibly Crawford's best performance.  Blyth also did a great job as the very entitled and spoiled daughter.  The murder element does not take place in the novel and was added for dramatic effect I suppose.  

The Burning Plain (2008):  Guillermo Arriaga directed and co-wrote this multi-story film.  Charlize Theron stars as Sylvia who is the hostess at a restaurant seemingly trying to forget her past.  Kim Basinger and Jennifer Lawrence co-stars as mother and daughter Gina and Mariana who have a rather troubled relationship.  John Corbett, Jose Maria Yazpik, Robin Tunney, Gay Eubank, Fernanda Romero, Kacie Thomas, JD Pardo, Diego J. Torres, Rachel Ticotin, Debrianna Marshall, Brett Cullen, and many others co-star in this film.  This is one that it is best to just watch.  I feel giving more than what I did could give some things away.  This flows very well and connects in a very sensible way.  This is available to watch on Prime, TUBI, the Roku Channel, Pluto TV, and Plex.  

The House Bunny (2008):  This one features a house mother at a sorority, so those mothers deserve some recognition as well.  Fred Wolf directed this college comedy.  Anna Faris stars as Shelley Darlingson who has lived at the Playboy mansion much of her adult life but has been kicked out on her 27th birthday.  She finds her way to a struggling sorority of misfits who are in danger of losing their house if they don't get more pledges, so Shelley takes a job as the house mother to help save their sorority house.  Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Christopher McDonald, Beverly D'Angelo, Katherine McPhee, Rumor Willis, Kiely Williams, Monet Mozur, Tyson Ritter, Sarah Wright, Rachel Specter, Owen Benjamin, Hugh Hefner, and many others co-star in this comedy.  This is a really good movie to bring the Playboy world and the sorority world together.  I suppose this is a REVENGE OF THE NERDS of this era where the sorority must take on a very snobby sorority.  This is available to watch on TUBI. 

The Lunchbox (2013):  The housewife Ila has a daughter, so this qualifies for the segment.  Ritesh Batra wrote and directed this Indian film.  This revolves around the real-life Mumbai lunch delivery service Dabbawalas.  Irrfan Khan stars as Saajan who is an older man nearing retirement.  Nimrat Kaur stars as Ila who is an unhappy housewife.  Together they start exchanging notes through the delivery system and consider the idea of meeting in person.  Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Lillete Dubey, Nakul Vaid, Bharti Achrekar, Denzil Smith, Shruti Bapna, Nasir Khan, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a very moving film with both leads being very likable.  This is an unexpected gem of food delivery and romance.  This is easily worth a look.

Puss in Boots (2011):  Puss has a human foster mom whose trust he hopes to earn back.  Chris Miller directed this animated prequel to the SHREK franchise.  Antonio Banderas reprises his role of the voice of Puss in Boots who has been framed and is a fugitive.  He teams up with fellow feline Kitty Southpaws, voiced by Salma Hayek, and his childhood friend Humpty Dumpty, voiced by Zach Galifianakis, to go against outlaws Jack and Jill, voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris.  Constance Marie, Guillermo Del Toro, Mike Mitchell, Ryan Crego, Conrad Vernon, Tom McGrath, Bob Joles, and many others co-star in this animated prequel.  With the popularity of the character in SHREK 2, they decided Puss in Boots deserves its own franchise.  This one is a lot of fun with a lot of fairy tale references and other movie references in general.  This is a great movie to watch with the cats.

CODA (2021):  Marlee Matlin co-stars as a mother in this film.  Sian Heder directed this American remake to the 2014 film THE BELIER FAMILY.  Emilia Jones stars as high school student Ruby who is a CODA which is a child of deaf adults.  Ruby is able to hear despite both her parents, played by Troy Katsur and Marlee Matlin, being deaf and her brother Leo, played by Daniel Durant.  Ruby also discovers she has a gift for singing with the help of her eccentric choir director Bernardo, played by Eugenio Derbez.  Things become difficult for her when finding her family fishing business is in danger and is torn between her dreams and helping her family.  John Fiore, Lonnie Farmer, Kevin Chapman, Amy Forsyth, Courtland Jones, Molly B. Thomas, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Ayana Brown, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a very moving film and a good look into the deaf community.  Jones did some very good preparation by learning sign language, taking singing lessons, and how to operate a fishing trawler.  This is available to watch on Apple TV.

Hope Gap (2019):  This might not be a very good Mother's Day for the mother played by Annette Bening.  William Nicholson directed and wrote this film about a couple separating.  Bill Nighy and Annette Bening star as married couple Edward and Grace and Edward decides to leave Grace after 29 years.  Stuck in the middle is their son Jamie, played by Josh O'Connor, who plays middleman to them as they adjust to their lives apart.  Aiysha Hart, Ryan McKen, Nicholas Burns, Steven Pacey, Derren Litten, Finn Bennett, and many others co-star in this film.  This was a very well-done film with good performances from the leads.  It is a good look at a family falling apart.  This is available to watch on TUBI, Pluto TV, and Plex.

Under the Same Moon (2007):  Patricia Riggin directed this film on the power of family.  Adrian Alonso stars as the nine-year-old Carlitos who lives in Mexico with his grandmother.  Carlitos longs to see his mother Rosario who is living undocumented in the states trying to make a better life for her family.  When his grandmother dies, Carlitos illegally crosses the border in hope of finding his mother.  Eugenio Derbez co-stars as Enrique who is an illegal immegant himself and reluctantly helps Carlitos in the search to find his mother.  Maya Zapata, Carmen Salinas, Angelina Palaez, Gabriel Porras, America Ferrera, Jesse Garcia, Maria Rojo, Ignacio Guadalupe, Mario Almada, Ernesto D'Alessio, Gustavo Sanchez Parra, Yvette Mercedes, and many others co-star in this film.  This is a very moving film and a very inspirational story.  It is a very good story about not giving up hope.  I suppose it also shows how screwed up our system is in society.

Child's Play (1988):  Tom Holland directed and co-wrote this horror film.  Alex Vincent stars as the six-year-old Andy whose mother Karen, played by Catherine Hicks, buys him one of the popular good guy dolls.  Karen gets it from someone on the street, and it turns out that the killer Charles Lee Ray, played by Brad Dourif, managed to transfer his soul to the doll as he was dying.  Chris Sarandon co-stars as officer Mike Norris who tries to help destroy the murderous doll.  Dinah Manoff, Tommy Swerdlow, Jack Colvin, Neil Giuntoli, Alan Wilder, and many others co-star in this film.  This is the start of a very popular horror franchise.  This has a good amount of gore and dark comedy with the iconic Chucky.  This is available to watch on Max.  

The Joy Luck Club (1993):  This takes a look at quite a few mother/daughter relationships.  Wayne Wang directed this film which is based on the novel by Amy Tan.  Kieu Chien, Tsai Chin, France Nuyen, and Lisa Lu co-star as a group of Chinese immigrants who have been long time friends and all have daughters.  Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, Ming-Na Wen, and Lauren Tom all co-star as the daughters.  Each mother/daughter set reflect on their times and try to come to terms with the past.  Chao Li Chi, Victor Wong, Vu Mai, Meijuan Xi, Irene Ng, Christopher Rich, Nicholas Guest, Feihong Yu, Russell Wong, Grace Chang, Michael Paul Chan, Philip Moon, Yi Ding, Vivian Wu, Lucille Soong, Andrew McCarthy, and many others co-star in this film.  This has multiple stories along with flashbacks, mostly for the mothers.  Some of this is autobiographical for the author Tan.  This is a very complex story on Asian families.  This is definitely one for Mother's Day that any mother and daughter can enjoy., 

Dude Bro Party Massacre III (2015):  This has a murdered named Motherface so what better time than Mother's Day.  Tomm Jacobsen, Michael Rousselet, and Jon Salmon directed this horror parody.  Alec Owen stars as Brent Chirino whose twin brother Brock was murdered.  He infiltrates a fraternity to investigate his death.  Soon, murders are committed by "Motherface".  Olivia Taylor Dudley, Larry King, Skyler Rousselet, Greg Sestero, Katie J. Stone, and many others co-star in this horror comedy.  Yes, that is the same Larry King from the news.  This is essentially a Grindhouse parody.  It has lots of unrealistic gore and fake commercials with an old VHS sort of transfer.  As far as I know, this is no part one and two to this movie with a three in it.  Take this for what it is worth and can be some fun if not taken too seriously.  This is available to watch on Prime, TUBI, and Pluto TV.

Parallel Mothers (2021):  Pedro Almodovar directed and wrote this Spanish film.  Penelope Cruz and Milena Smit star as Janis and Ana who meet in a hospital room where they are both having babies.  Both of them are having their babies unexpectedly and are both single where they form a bond between each other.  Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Rossy de Palma, Julieta Serrano, and many others co-star in this film.  This is one that just has to be watched and just see things unfold.  It gets rather intense at times and is a very compelling film about the two single mothers and how their lives change.  This is available to watch on Starz.