Happy 79th Birthday Jack Nicholson...........Our 10 Favorite Films of His.......

Jack Nicholson turned 79 yesterday (April 22nd), a day which also marked the 80th birthday of country singer/actor Glen Campbell who s struggling with a high publicized bout with Alzhemeir's Disease.

Here are our ten favorite films of his, all but three are from the 1970s:

1) The Passenger (1975, pict. top)

2) Five Easy Pieces (1970; pict. center w/ the late Karen Black)

3) Chinatown (1974, pict. bottom w/ Faye Dunaway)

4) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

5) Carnal Knowledge (1971)

6) The Last Detail (1973)

7) The Shinning (1980 w/ Shelley Duvall)

8) The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)

9) The Departed(2006)

10) Prizzi's Honor (1985)

My Top 10 Favorite Films of Dennis Hopper

Alas, life has been difficult for Dennis Hopper, the iconic character actor hippie-turned-Republican who voted for Barack Obama also known for his photography skills and art collection as he has been going through a divorce and dealing with what is reported to be terminal prostate cancer.

But, since May 17 is his 74th birthday, I thought I would post my ten favorite films of his. This is a new pet project I am starting with this entry which focuses on my favorite films (note- not the same as best films) of a given movie star.

On my other blog, I will be focusing on my ten favorite films of Henry Fonda (1905-1982) who would have turned 105 on Sunday.

I was surprised to see that Hopper has actually been in more films than Henry Fonda (he co-starred with his offspring Peter Fonda in "Easy Rider"), but when one considers that Hopper has acted mostly in supporting roles that makes sense.

Here are top ten films for Hopper, and our thoughts are with him in his fight with prostate cancer:

1. "Apocalypse Now" (1979. Dir-Francis Ford Coppola)
2. "Easy Rider" (pictured). (1969. Dir-Dennis Hopper)
3. "The American Friend" (Germany. 1977. Dir- Wim Wenders)
4. "Blue Velvet" (1986. Dir-David Lynch)
5. "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955. Dir-Nick Ray)
6. "Cool Hand Luke" (1968. Dir-Stuart Rosenberg)
7. "Rumble Fish" (1983. Dir- Coppola).
8. "Straight to Hell" (UK. 1987. Dir-Alex Cox)
9. "The Pick-up Artist" (1987. Dir- James Toback)
10. "Red Rock West" (1993. Dir- John Dahl)

Today is My 40th Birthday, and I am NOT Turning into a Republican

I do have good friends who are Republicans, many of whom went to high school with me in the Roanoke, Va., area, so I will say that not all of them are gun nuts, religious whackos or extreme anti-government lunatics, but then again quite a few of them are-LOL!

In all seriousness, I want to thank everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday on Facebook whatever their politics might be.

Alas, since today is a work day, I will not be able to go UFO-watching in Logan, Utah, but perhaps this time next year I can just that (of course, we are not being enitrely serious here).

Ironically, today is also the 60th birthday of Gov. Rick Perry (R-Tex., pictured here along with Yosemite Sam and the Rev. John Hagee) who used to be a Democrat, or at least that's what Karl Rove said on "The Charlie Rose Show" last year, but I will not be joining the GOP anytime soon, or at least until Sarah Palin is kidnapped by those very aliens who are hanging out in Utah.

Celebrity Birthdays- Jessica Alba is 28

Jessica Alba turns 28 today. There are lots of celebrity birthdays today, particularly for very attractive women.

Penelope Cruz is turning 35, and Bridgette Moyhahan is now 38.

Celebrity Birthdays- Iggy Pop is 62

You know we are all getting older when punk/garage rock pioneer Iggy Pop is inching closer to qualifying for a senior citizen's discount at Denny's.

Pop who was born on this date in Muskegon, Mich., is 62 today. He is known as "The Godfather of Punk" and "The Rock Iguana."

The punk singer got his name because he was the lead singer of a band called The Iguanas when he was in high school. Pop later became the lead singer of The Stooges.

His hit songs include "Lust for Life" and "Real Wild Child." And, Pop recorded the original version of David Bowie's hit song "China Girl," a personal favorite of mine.

Pop's music was featured in the soundtrack for the film "Trainspotting."

A few years ago, Pop appeared in the Jim Jarmusch arthouse hit "Coffee and Cigarettes" where he appeared in a sequence with legendary singer Tom Waits.

I must profess that we had a hard time finding a suitable photo to go with Pop. There was actually one of him performing necade! We decided that might cause this blog to be banned in Provo, Utah, so we opted for this shot of him wearing a crown instead.

Celebrity B-Days

Today happens to be the 44th birthday for both Jon Cryer and Martin Lawrence.

My mother Lila Duckworth (fictional name) who lives in Rome, Virginia (fictional place) happens to be a big fan of "Two and a Half Men."

But, since I come of age during the presidency of Ronald McDonald (fictional variation on real person), I will, of course, see Mr. Cryer as Ducky from "Pretty in Pink," which is pictured here.

I also want to wish my good friend Bilge Ebiri (real person) a happy birthday as well. I am not sure if he watches "Two and a Half Men."

We apologize to Mr. Lawrence for not writing more about him......but I will try to add "Bad Boys" to my Netflix que to make it up to him.

SIDEBAR: This entry was originally meant to be posted on my sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" which has the latest entry in our ever popular political confusion series:

http://politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday, Seth Rogen

April 15 is day when folks like to moan and groan about paying their taxes, but today is also the day when Seth Rogen, one of our favorite young comic actors, turns 27.


Rogen is currently starring in "Observe and Report," which my friend Moviezzz has a review on at his blog: talkingmoviezzz.blogspot.com

I saw the movie in Greensboro over the weekend, and as I told my friend Pelin, a fellow film buff who lives in Turkey, it is basically a comedic remake of "Taxi Driver."

I had a chance to meet Paul Schrader who penned "Taxi Driver" at a Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville a few years ago. One has to wonder what he will make of "Observe and Report."

Perhaps, the film can be a commentary on our world today in which even the comedies have become dark and disturbing.

"Observe and Report" has some good chuckles though. I especially liked the scene in which he goes out with the bimbo blonde, which goes to prove if you go out on a date with high expectations, you will be very disappointed.

Happy Birthday, Hugh Hefner

The man behind "Playboy" magazine turns 83 today. I guess it's a bit too late to see if I'm invited to the b-day party at the 'mansion.'

Oh well, here's to the hopes that I get invited next year........

Celebrity Birthday- Catherine O'Hara is 55

It was a coin toss between this SCTV-alumnus and Paula Prentiss, who turns 70 today.

Along with crime writer James Ellroy, movie directors Curtis Hanson and Adrien Lyne, and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas (who is unfortunately a Republican), they each share a birthday with me.

Although none of these people were actually born on March 4, 1970, as retired motorcycle racer Alex Criville was (yes, I had never heard of him either!).

O'Hara has starred in films like "For Your Consideration," "Lemony Snicket....," "A Mighty Wind," "Best in Show," "Orange County" and (of course) "Home Alone."

She also had a guest role in the HBO series "Six Feet Under."

I just hope for her sake that no one has died on her birthday, as has happened to me! (My father actually died on my 13th birthday).

Celebrity Birthday- Tea Leoni is 43

Tea Leoni turns 43 today. The actress who is married to David Duchovny (though they are supposedly separated at the moment) starred in "Ghost Town" with Ricky Gervais last year.

Leoni made it as a sitcom star with "Flying Blind" and "The Naked Truth." Like Robin Wright Penn, she started out on the soap opera "Santa Barbara."

She is also an alumnus of Sarah Lawrence College.

During a celebrity edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," she responded: "You're screwed, honey" to Duchovny after he called her during the phone-a-friend phase of the game.