The Next Ten Films We Hope 2 Watch: We Just Love Goldie Hawn and Charlton Heston Flicks

1) "The Story of Louis Pasteur" (1936. dir-William Dieterle) 7.4 (IMDB rating)

2) "Enter Laughing" (1967. dir-Carl Reiner) (see top image) 6.5

3) *"Breathless" (France. 1960. dir-Jean-Luc Godard) 8.0

4)* "L'Enfant" (Belgium. 2005. dir-Jean-Pierr and Luc Dardenne) 7.4

5) "No" (Chile. 2012. dir-Pablo Larrain.) 7.5

6)* "Climates" (center image)  (Turkey. 2006. dir-Nuri Bilge Ceylan) 7.3

7) "West of Memphis" (doc. dir-Amy Berg) 7.9

8) "Butterflies Are Free" (bottom image) w/Goldie Hawn (1972. dir-Milton Katselus) 7.2

9) * "Soylent Green" w/Charlton Heston (1973. dir-Richard Fleischer) 7.1

10) * "My Dinner with Andre" (1981. dir-Louis Malle) 7.7

*-Films we've previously watched

http://www.imdb.com

Quote of the Day- Nick Nolte

Today, we continue to quote actors who have played presidents with a quip from Nick Nolte, 71, who came to fame in the late-1970s thanks in part for his performance in the tv mini-series "Rich Man, Poor Man," which was a sensation at the time.

Notable films in Nolte's filmography include "48 Hours" (dir. Walter Hill, 1982), "Cape Fear" (dir. Martin Scorsese, 1990) and "The Prince of Tides" (dir. Barbara Streisand, 1991).

He played President Thomas Jefferson in the feature film "Jefferson in Paris" (dir. James Ivory, 1995) with Gwyneth Paltrow playing his daughter. Ironically, Paltrow's mom Blythe Danner played Martha Jefferson, the mother of Paltrow's character in real life, in the musical film "1776" (dir. Peter H. Hunt, 1972).

Today, on our other blog "Poltics, Cultures and Other Wastes of Time," we are quoting Charlton Heston who played Jefferson in a tv movie entitled "The Patriots," as Heston played another president Andrew Jackson in the feature film "The Buccaneer" (dir. Anothony Quinn, 1958).

Here is Nolte's quote:

"If you have a film that's valid, you stick your ass on the line."

SIDELINE: In a quick sports note, in minor league action in the Carolina League, the hometown Lynchburg Hillcats (Lynchburg, Va.) fell to the Potomac Nationals (Woodbridge, Va., near Washington, DC), a farm team of the Washington Nationals, by a score of 10-1. The Nationals scored on nine runs in the fourth inning of the game. For the visitors, Matt Grace, 23, a UCLA alumni (6-10), was the winning pitcher over Cody Martin, 22 (10-7) for the Hillcats. The same two teams play tomorrow.


http://www.nicknolte.com

http://www.monticello.org

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

http://www.washingtonnationals.mlb.com

Quote of the Week- Warren Beatty

According to a new biography by Peter Biskind, Warren Beatty was the real-life Hot Stuff (see last entry) and we'll leave it at that. Since we were quoting famous movie directors in October, we thought we'd conclude with Beatty.

Though better known for his acting skills and his Pepe LePew characteristics, Beatty has also directed four films, including "Reds" which garnered him an Oscar for Best Director (though nominated many times, he never won an Oscar for acting). Beatty also directed the screen version of "Dick Tracy" and "Bulworth," in which he plays a politician.

Beatty has been the one Hollywood icon that many people thought would actually run for president. Ironically, even though he is liberal, Beatty was friends with both Charlton Heston and Ronald Reagan. The later of which leads us to this Quote of the Week, which I would imagine is quite true (and, I'm not one to agree with 'The Gipper' often!):

"I was friends with Ronald Reagan and he once said to me, 'I don't know how anybody can serve in public office without being an actor."

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's Netflix Que

Virginia's governor Bob McDonnell (R) embarrassed all of us who are either from or live in Virginia by infamously declaring April 'Confederate Heritage Month' last week though he sure made me glad I am not a Republican.

Of course, while McDonnell professed that this was a way to help increase tourism in Virginia it was really a payback to the NASCAR Republicans in hamlets like Boones Mill, Ridgeway and New Market who voted for this right-wing extremist.

But, we have 'obtained' a list of the ten movies in the governor's Netflix que. We couldn't resist a chance to publish them here:

1. The Dukes of Hazzard (film version)
2. Deliverance
3. Gone With the Wind
4. The Birth of a Nation
5. Watermelon Man
6. The Passion of The Christ
7. Beneath the Planet of the Apes*
8. Soul Man
9. Invasion USA
10. Malcolm X**

*-because it has Charlton Heston

**-this one got in by mistake.
(This is a work of satire. Of course, we have not really found the governor's Netflix list but I wouldn't be surprised if it actually looked like this, without "Malcolm X"!)


We dedicate this entry to Pat Mullins who is the head of the Virginia Republican Party. He is working diligently to replace Cong. Tom Perriello with a NASCAR Republican...yeehaw!

Top 10 Left-Wing Films of All Time

We are running an accompanying entry on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" entitled the Top 10 Right-Wing Films of all time.

This list is basically totally random, though not entirely pointless.

My friend Jason Garnett, who is NOT a right-wing extremist, professing his admiration of the ultra-conservative film "Red Dawn," which makes our other list.

He is opening a new venture entitled The Shadowbox Cinema in Roanoke, Va., with a screening of "The Big Lebowski" on March 27. To my knowledge that film does not have a political bias, but the John Goodman character is reportedly based on the director of "Red Dawn" whose name escapes me (where is the IMDB when you need it???).

I did see two films on this list, the Brazilian film "Motorcycle Diaries" and the Michael Moore doc "Fahrenheit 911" at Jason's former house of worship the Grandin Theatre, also in Roanoke, which was kind enough to screen "Gremlins" for my 40th birthday last night. Perhaps, it's just me, but I sensed the 1984 adventure film had some Cold War overtones........yeah, I guess I do read too much into things. The Grandin is currently showing films like "Crazy Heart," "Shutter Island" and "Valentine's Day," none of which are subversive but you can never too sure about romantic comedies.

Ironically, one film listed here the original 1968 version of "Planet of the Apes" is considered a liberal film for its environmental message even though it stars the late ultra-conservative actor Charlton Heston.

Here is a list of our favorite films which are definitely to the left of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Ct.):


1. Medium Cool
2. Salt of the Earth
3. Battle of Algiers
4. Easy Rider
5. Motorcycle Diaries
6. Joe (pictured)
7. Tout Va Bien!
8. Harlan County USA (pictured)
9. Hearts and Minds
10. Planet of the Apes (1968-pictured)/Fahrenheit 9-11

Amazingly enough the socialist propaganda film "I Am Cuba" did not make the final cut!