The Last Ten Films I've Seen: Novel Ideas

I was completely oblivious to the fact that Angelica Huston (pictured bottom) has written a new memoir called "A Story Lately Told," which she will be promoting on "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" tomorrow when I watched one of her very earliest film roles "A Walk with Love and Death" (1969).

Like "Oliver Twist" (1949), one of many filmations of the Charles Dickens novel, and "Ender's Game" (2013), the current film based on one of Orson Scott Card's signature science-fiction novel, which is number two on the top ten fiction books being sold in the Washington, DC-metro area list on "The Washington Post" (Card lives some six hours south of DC in Greensboro, NC), "A Walk with Love and Death" is based on a novel.

We got this idea from "Film Comment" magazine, the current issue has a photo of actor Oscar Isaac in the Coen Brothers' new film "Inside Llewyn Davis" on its cover, and "Oliver Twist" is one of many films being offered by the Criterion Collection.

Several of these films were also taped from Turners Classics Movies, which has an amazing lineup of films tonight, including "Elephant Man" (1980. dir-David Lynch).

Without further adieu, here are the last ten films I've seen as of Saturday:

1. "Oliver Twist" (1949. dir-David Lean)

2. "Ender's Game" (2013 dir-Gavin Hood)

3. "A Walk with Love and Death" (1969 dir-John Huston)

4. "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954 dir-Jack Arnold)

5. "Memories of Murder" (South Korea. 2003. dir-Joon-ho Bong)

6. "The Beat Generation (1959 dir-Charles F. Haas)

7. "The Defiant Ones" (1958 dir-Stanley Kramer)

8. "Caged" (1950. dir-John Cromwell)

9. "Mrs. Soffel" (1984. dir-Gillian Armstrong)

10. "Gravity" (2013. dir-Alfonso Cuaron)

SIDEBAR: For those in the DC-metro area, graphic novel writer Joe Sacco will be promoting his new work "The Great War...." at Politics and Prose, an independent bookstore in Washington, DC, on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Sacco's amazing work includes graphic novels on the Bosnian war and the West Bank in Israel.

http://www.npr.org/programs/fershair

http://www.politcs-prose.com

http://www.filmcomment.com

http://www.criterion.com

http://www.tcm.com

http://www.hatrack.com (Orson Scott Card's official web site)

Bonus Silly Photo to Fill Space- Oktoberfest

Alas, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, perhaps the msot famous Oktoberfest in America, was held last month. But, when I got a tweet from Visit Maine today, I realized there are still many Oktoberfests taking place in October here in the United States (there is even one in Brisbane, Australia, this weekend!). The festival which originated in Germany and features lots and lots of beer has become popular all over the globe.

The Maine event will be held in the quaint town of Belfast, which I visited back in 2007. According to the tweet from Visit Maine, Oktoberfest in Belfast will take place on Saturday and it will feature lots of beer and permaquid mussels.

Other Oktoberfests will take place this weekend in LaCosse, Wisc., Leavenworth, Wash., and Tampa, Fla. Additionally, there will be an Oktoberfest in Tulsa, Okl., on the following weekend.

SIDEBAR: I just listened to today's edition of the NPR talk show "Fresh Air" (with Terry Gross). She interviewed Jeffrey Eugenides ("The Virgin Suicides," "Middlesex") who is one of my favorite novelists. He is one of few whom I've met personally, along with the great North Carolina write Clyde Edgerton. Both have new novels out.

In his radio interview, Eugenides admitted that he cried while watching "Finding Nemo." So, I suppose I can confess to crying at the movies myself as I did recently during the Anne Hathaway "One Day." But, if I told you why, I'd have to put out a "Spoilers Alert."

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Sofia Coppola Likes Rango

Since I have longed though that film director Sofia Coppola was a private person, I was surprised when I heard her give an interview to Terry Gross for the NPR show "Fresh Air." And, I was even more stunned to see that she has a Twitter account.

And, apparently, the director of "Lost in Translation" who turns 40 in May likes the new animated film "Rango" that stars Johnny Depp (well his voice any way):

"Rango is such an amazing film, has anyone seen it? It's like Chinatown for kids, even the old turtle resembled John Huston."

I thought the tweet was a bit ironic since in a book about the Oscars writer Danny Peary said that "Chinatown" should have been chosen as the Best Film of 1974 instead of "The Godfather, Part 2," which Sofia's father directed. (We're not getting into this debate, as fighting and arguing with radical rapture-seeking right-wing extremists like the Rev. Johnny Robertson of Martinsville, Va.*, is our top priority around here!).

As for Sofia Coppola's new film "Somewhere" is showing at one of our favorite cinemas, the Galaxy Cinema in Cary, NC (Raleigh). They are not showing "Rango," but they are also screening "Barney's Version" which a friend of mine in Bethesda, Maryland, really enjoyed!

*- Yes, this is a real person and (of course!) he has his own tv show!

Things We Learned on Twitter PM- Green Day Song Popular on TV

There were many things we learned this afternoon, including the disturbing news that a 13-year-old kid brought a gun to Blacksburg Middle School today in Blacksburg, Va, where the Virginia Tech shooting tragedy occured in 2007 (I grew up in nearby Roanoke, Va.), the UNC Tarheels' women's lacrosse team is getting ready to face Northwestern in the NCAA semi-finals on Friday and Pakistani officials are considering relaxing the nationwide ban on YouTube.

But, for our story of the day, we are going with this tid-bit we learned from a tweet from the NPR talk show "Fresh Air," which is hosted by Terry Gross:

'Green Day song "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" was used in "Seinfeld" and "ER." '

I knew that it was used in "Seinfeld," but it seems intriguing that it was picked up by the hospital drama which ran on tv for 36 years (that is a joke!).

The NPR radio program features an interview with actor Walter Goggins who is now appearing in the FX series "Justified" this week.

For those in my state of residence North Carolina,"Fresh Air" airs on WUNC-FM (90.7 FM/Chapel Hill) at 7 p.m. Those of you living just up the road in the hamlet of Boones Mill, Va., (near Roanoke) can listen to the broadcast at 6:30 p.m. on WVTF
(89.1 FM/Roanoke).