Next Ten for Netflix: English-Language Films

Greetings to our blog readers in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.......

Here is a look at the next ten English-language films we hope to watch on Netflix even though we will be watching the Scottish film "Gregory's Girl" with subtitles as it can be an accent that those of us here in the United States may have trouble understandings.

The images above are of: 1) A scene from "Taxi Driver" with Robert DeNiro, 2) the late Canadian magician Doug Henning (we are using his image as a play on words for "Before I Disappear," a film which is not about magicians) and 3) "King Kong" for "The Immigrant," though she lived a full life, we still miss Fay Wray.

Here is our next ten to watch via Netflix streaming; the order is in order of ranking by the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), (to the right) for a look at documentaries and foreign films, go to our sister blog http://www.politics.cultureanotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

*-Films we have previously seen before:


*1) Taxi Driver. 1976. Dir: Martin Scorsese.  8.4/10

2) Before I Disappear. 2014. Dir: Shawn Christensen. 7.2

* 3) The Dark Crystal. 1982. Dirs: Frank Oz and Jim Henson. 7.2

*4) Gregory's Girl. 1981. Dir: Bill Forsyth. 7.1

5) World War Z. 2013. Dir: Marc Foster. 7.0

6) The Immigrant. 2013. Dir: James Gray. 6.6

7) Trishna. 2011. Dir: Michael Winterbottom. 6.0

8) The Lifeguard. 2013. Dir: Liz W. Garcia. 5.7

9) HairBrained. 2013. Dir: Billy Kent 5.5

10) As I Lay Dying. 2013. Dir/ James Franco 5.4

http://www.netflix.com

http://www.imdb.com

http://www.filmcomment.com

Quote of the Day: Cate Blanchett

Greetings to our blog-readers in Estonia, Thailand and Jordan.

Tonight, in honor of International Women's Day, which has been promoted on LinkedIn via Turkish Airlines as well as a Google Doodle, we are quoting the most recent Oscar winner for Best Actress, Cate Blanchett. The Australian actress, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator," won the Academy Award for her title role in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine," The film also featured an excellent performance from Sally Hawkins.

Here is Blanchett's quip:

"Don't you find that work, if you love it, is actually invigorating."

http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

http://www.google.com

http://www.turkishairlines.com/

http://www.linkedin.com

The Rabbit Ears Quiz (11 of 12)_ M*A*S*H

Today, we continue our long-running Rabbit Ears Quiz series with a look at "M*A*S*H, which is arguably the most popular television show made from a film. The movie, directed by Robert Altman, is my personal favorite one from 1970. The tv sitcom aired in 1972, and according to the IMDB, Altman did not care for the show, though the series was a success with audiences and critics alike.

The tv version of "M*A*S*H" actually outlasted the Korean War, which it is set in by eight years! Only three actors were in both the film and tv version, the main one of them is Gary Burghoff (Radar O'Reilly), who was the first actor cast for the tv show.

Alan Alda was the only actor who appeared in all the episodes. Alda, 76, has seen a resurgence in his acting career thanks to his Oscar nomination for his supporting role in the Martin Scorsese film "The Aviator" (2004).

Harry Morgan and Mike Farrell joined the cast after the fourth season of the series. Morgan, the oldest member of the cast, died last year at age 96. Farrell,73, is known for being one of the leading anti-capital punishment activists in America (editorial note: I am also a capital punishment opponent).

So, today, we are asking how many episodes did this show which ran for 11 seasons air. Is the answer:

A) 266

B) 256

C) 251

D) 236

As always, we will send the winner an 8-track copy of "The Oak Ridge Boys' Greatest Hits" (that is a joke).

http://www.tv.com/mash

http://www.alanalda.com

http://www.mikefarrell.org

Top 10 Most Controversial Films of All Time?

After contemplating many different options for this week's Top Ten List, including a list from the old "Late Night with David Letterman" from 1991, I've chosen to go with a Top Ten List which deals with the supposed most controversial films ever made.

I did not make this list myself, and it was posted on listserve.com three years ago today and hence it does not feature the fairly recent Lars Von Trier film "Anti-Christ."

But, since many of the films mentioned on this particular list and the one I will post on my other blog deal with religion, we thought we'd go with an image of Jesus Christ who is apparently going to be visiting a fundamentalist church in Madison, NC, soon (we couldn't resist!)*.

Interestingly enough, this film does not include German Nazi films like "Triumph of the Will" nor any Vietnam War films from either the left or the right, including the documentary "Hearts and Minds" from the left or the John Wayne film "The Green Berets" from the right.

The Sundance Channel will be broadcasting the early '70s documentary "FTA," featuring Jane Fonda making anti-Vietnam War rallies outside American military bases in Hawaii, The Philippines and Okinawa (Japan) on Monday. This film by the late Francine Parker which was effectively banned upon its initial release will show at 8:40 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. on Monday. To this date, it is the subject of great debate.

*- We mention Madison, NC, 20 miles north of Greensboro, in particular because there is a church there which has erected some 14 white crosses along Rte. 220!

Here is the list:

10. "Last Tango in Paris" (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1972)

9. "Natural Born Killers" (Oliver Stone, 1994)

8. Birth of a Nation (D.W. Griffith, 1915)

7. "The Last Temptation of Christ" (Martin Scorsese, 1988)**

6. "JFK" (Oliver Stone, 1991)

5. "Deep Throat" (Gerard Damiano, 1972)***

4. "Fahrenheit 9-1-1" (doc. Michael Moore, 2004).

3. "Salo" (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975)

2. "A Clockwork Orange" (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)

1. "The Passion of the Christ" (Mel Gibson, 2004)

**- Scorsese's film is actually banned from Bulgarian public television.

***-"Deep Throat" is the only film on the list which is considered an adult film.

Top Ten Films of 1990- "Goodfellas" is My Choice for Best Film

I am continuing my series which looks at the Best Films of each year that started a decade from 1950-2000.

Today, we look at the Best Films of 1990, which in cinematic terms was a fairly tepid one though it produced some great films from Martin Scorsese, The Coen Brothers, Pedro Almodovar and David Lynch.

I first saw "Goodfellas" (pictured here) at an outdoor cinema on the island of Buyukada, off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey. A friend of mine who I ran into at the cinema left during intermission (in Turkey to this day, they insert a ten-minute intermission to all films which can at times be a bit awkward) because he thought the film was 'too violent.'

But, irregardless of what the guy (I believe his name was Ali or Ahmet) thought the film by Scorsese is a genuine masterpiece which complements his other superlative films like "Raging Bull" (my choice for the best film of 1980) and "Taxi Driver."

My choice for the best foreign-language film is the Iranian classic "Close-Up" by Abbas Kiarostami, which merits a second look (alas, my Netflix que is full!). Kiarostami has also directed great films like "Ten," and he helped define the surprising film movement in Iran. With the recent arrest of Jafar Panahi (director of "Offsides"), Iran is alas still not a place where artistic expression, especially ones with political overtones, come easily.

Two films which lead to the NC-17 rating came out in 1990, including Almodovar's "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" and Philip Kaufman's "Henry and June." Both films were also as good as they were provocative and hence both make my top ten:


1. "Goodfellas" (Martin Scorsese)

2. "Miller's Crossing" (Coen Bros.)

3. "Close-Up" (Iran. Abbas Kiarostami)

4. "The Grifters" (Stephen Frears)

5. "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" (Spain. Pedro Almodovar)

6. "Wild at Heart" (David Lynch)

7."Edward Scissorhands" (Tim Burton)

8. "Europa, Europa" (Germany. Agnieszka Holland)

9. "Henry and June" (Philip Kaufman)

10. "Trust" (Hal Hartley)

Other films of merit from 1990 include the indie film "Metropolitan," "The Godfather III," "Dances With Wolves" and "Misery."

My choice for the Best Films of 2000 will be listed on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time."

Quote of the Week- Neil Simon

Since last week marked the eight anniversary of Septermber 11th, I thought I would continue the annual tradition of quoting famous New Yorkers to mark the occasion.

Today, we have quips from playwright Neil Simon and film director Martin Scorsese on our two respective blogs.

This quote is from Simon, I wonder if he was talking about Woody Allen:

"He's too nervous to kill himself. He wears his seat belt in a drive-in movie."