The Last Ten Films I've Seen (as of Oct. 2nd): Some Depressing Dramas

Greetings to our blog readers in Libya, Dubai and India, where we assume the top image might cause us problems.

Amazingly enough, seven of the ten films on this list were seen via Netflix dvds or Netflix streaming, while one film "My Old Lady" was actually seen in a movie theater.

"Prime Cut" is a vintage early '70s action-drama with the late, great Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, and Sissy Spacek in her film debut, some four years before she became Carrie White in "Carrie."

"For the Bible Tells Me So" illustrates the rift between conservative evangelical Christians who believe in literal interpretations of the Bible, in terms of viewing homosexuality as a sin, as well as gays and lesbians, and their liberal supporters, who strongly find this views reprehensible.

"My Old Lady" is a humorous English-language film set in France, in which Kevin Kline discovers that the home his father left him in Paris is occupied by Maggie Smith and her grown-up daughter played by Kristen Scott Thomas.

Here are the last ten films we've seen:

1. Prime Cut. 1972. Director: Michael Ritchie

2. Free Samples 2012. Dir: Jay Gammill w/Jesee Eisenberg

3. Fruitvale Station. 2013. Dir: Ryan Coogler. w/ Michael B. Jordan

4. For the Bible Tells Me So. (documentary). Dir: Daniel G. Karslake

5. Mandabi. Senegal. 1968. Dir: Ousmane Sembene.

6. Xala. Senegal. 1975. Dir: Ousmane Sembene.

7. My Old Lady. 2014. Dir: Israel Horovitz.

8. Take My Eyes. Spain. 2003. Dir: Iciar Bollain

9. Paradise: Hope. Austria. 2013. Dir: Ulrich Seidl

10. Block-C. Turkey. 1994. Dir: Zeki Demirkubuz

 http://www.netflix.com

Last 10 Films I've Seen (as of Sunday, July 13th): Lots of Indies

It's been a while since we posted a "Last Ten Films I've Seen" entry, but this week, we have overindulged in Netflix streaming in part because we really got behind on film-watching because of the World Cup. Yes, I do use the pronoun 'we' on occasions when referring to myself, but we assure you that I don't have a multiple-personality disorder!

Here are the films:

1) Elles. Poland/France. 2011. dir: Malgoska Szmovska. w/ Juliette Binoche.

2) In Another Country (image #1). South Korea. 2012. dir: Sang-Soo Hong w/Isabella Huppert

3) This is Martin Bonner. USA. 2013. dir: Chad Hartigan

4) The Imposter (image #2, Rich Little impersonating George Burns) USA. 2012. dir: Bart Layton

5) Nuit #1. Canada (in French). 2011. dir: Anne Emond.

6) Wrong Cops. Canada/USA. 2013. dir: Quentin Dupieux

7) A Girl who Walks Home Alone at Night. USA (in Farsi). 2014. dir: Ana Lily Amirpour

8) Cold Fish (bottom image of Istanbul fish market): Japan. 2010. dir: Shion Sono

9) Deliver Us from Evil. USA. 2014. dir: Scott Derrickson.

10) Carrie. USA. 1976. dir: Brian De Palma. w/Sissy Spacek and John Travolta

Bill Murray Birthday Bash in Roanoke, Va., on Sept 21

We don't know if the Bill Murray movie that will be screened will in fact be Wes Anderson's "Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" or not, but on Sept. 21, The Shadowbox Cinema in Roanoke, Va., will screen a Murray film in honor of his 60th birthday.

Murray has been in all kinds of films, ranging from art house dramas like "Broken Flowers" (2005) and "Lost in Translation" (2003) to cult comedies like "Groundhog Day" (1993) and "Kingpin" (1996).

Murray made a name for himself on "Saturday Night Life" before starring or co-starring in big screen blockbusters like "Caddyshack" (1980), "Stripes" (1981) and "Ghost Busters" (1984).

He is currently in the film "Get Low" with Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek, all three of whom were part-time or full-time residents of Virginia (Spacek still lives on a farm near Charlottesville). "Get Low" is playing at cinemas around the country, including the Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC.

Quote of the Week- Jack Lemmon

Today, we are featuring quotes from the late Jack Lemmon (1925-2001) and Sissy Spacek who co-starred in the highly political 1982 thriller "Missing" about the disappearance of an American journalist circa 1973 during a coup in Chile which gave power to right-wing dictator Augusto Pinochet (1915-2006). The quote from Lemmon will be on this blog, while the quote from Spacek will be on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time."

"Missing" was shot in secret in Mexico by the left-wing Greek film director Costa-Gravas because the film indictes the American government of the time, particularly the likes of Henry Kissinger, which supported the controversial coup which remains a black mark for the former secretary of state under Richard Nixon.

The film was based on the real-life experience of Ed Horman, played by Lemmon, who joins his daughter-in-law Beth (played by Spacek) in looking for Charlie Horman, played by character actor John Shea.

I just saw the film a few years ago. Interestingly enough, "Missing" shared the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival with the late Turkish filmmaker Yilmaz Guney's "Yol" (actually directed by Serif Goren). That film was also highly controversial as it dealt with the impact of the 1980 military coup in Turkey and the film directly suggested the need for Turkish Kurds (Guney was ethnically Kurdish) to politically separate from Turkey, which remains a highly provacative issue in my late father Mehmet Gokbudak's country.

Coincidentally, my late uncle Ilhan Gokbudak was a high-ranking Turkish diplomat in Chile while Pinochet ruled the country in the 1970s. The dictator did not step down until 2000, and he died without ever being brought to justice for his many human rights abuses during his reign.

As for Lemmon, he was nominated for Best Actor seven times, including his lead role in "Missing." He won the Oscar in 1973 for his role in "Save the Tiger" over other highly-touted nominees, including Marlan Brando ("Last Tango in Paris"), Jack Nicholson ("The Last Detail"), Al Pacino ("Serpico") and Robert Redford ("The Sting.") Lemmon had earlier won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1956 for "Mister Roberts."

Lemmon starred in seven Billy Wilder films, including "The Apartment" and "Some Like it Hot" as well as ten films with Walter Matthau, most notably "The Odd Couple."

The late actor was idolized by Kevin Spacey who has also won Oscars in the two categories, including the Best Actor Oscar he recieved for the 1999 film "American Beauty."

Throughout March, we have quoted past Best Actor and Best Actress Oscar winners.

Here is the quote from Lemmon:

"Failure seldom stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure."