The Last Ten Films We've Seen: City Films

Among the last ten films listed here, there are two with career stand-up comedians/actors: the late Rodney Dangerfield plays a dictatorial cinema manager in "The Last Projection" and the late Richard Pryor has a cameo in "Car Wash."

Other films include the western "Winchester '73" with the late Jimmy Stewart and early film appearances from the late Rock Hudson and the late Tony Curtis (billed as Anthony Curtis), Gene Hackman reprising Popeye Doyle in "French Connection II" and Jean-Luc Godard's "Made in USA," which has only been allowed for public viewing in the USA since 2008 due to a copyright issue.

Here is the list, we got the idea from "Film Comment:"

1. "The Projectionist" 1971. dir-Harry Hurwitz

2. "French Connection II" (pictured top) 1975. dir-John Frankenheimer

3. "Winchester '73" 1950 dir-Anthony Mann #

4. "Made in USA" (France) 1966. dir-Jean-Luc Godard

5. "Car Wash" (pictured center) 1976. dir-Michael Shultz

6. "The Graduate" (pictured bottom) 1967 dir-Mike Nichols #

7. "Happymorethankyouplease" 2010. dir-Josh Radnor

8. "The Avengers" 2012. dir- Joss Whedon

9. "Bridesmaids" 2011. dir. Paul Feig

10. "The Cabin in the Woods" 2011. dir-Drew Goddard

#-Films we had previously watched before

http://www.filmcomment.com

http://www.filmlinc.com

http://www.richardpryor.com

Highlights from My 24 Things to Improve My Life List

It seems to be a slow Saturday night, and I can tell that from Twitter where I saw that people as diverse as right-wing evangelical acivist Nathan Tabor, from Winston-Salem, NC, moderate conservative pundit David Frum and liberal journalist Suzy Khimm were all watching the Republican debate from Michigan tonight.

So, perhaps this will mean more blog traffic than normal.

A funny thing happened the other day as my mom and I were browsing through an independent bookstore in Roanoke, Va. I stumbled across a copy of a self-help book entitled "Clean Like a Man" by Tom McNulty. I saw on the back jacket that comic/actor Richard Lewis ("Curb Your Enthuiasm") had strongly endorsed it as he confessed to being an Oscar Madison-type.

My mom looked when I showed her the book, which I should probably read_twice, and said (paraphrase): "Oh come on. You know you'll never read the thing; sorry son, but you are a hopeless cause."

So, with that, here are highlights from a list I made today on ways I could improve my life:

1. Lose weight

2. Get a good-paying job

3. Write a short story or even a short, short story

4. Clean house (hence, the reason for the vacuum cleaner image)

5. Try to get more hits on the two blogs; surely there is someone in a hut in the jungles of Burundi who cares about what I have to say.

6. Develop more confidence around attractive women; some guy found a way to ask Anne Hathaway out on a date.

7. Go on more long walks

8. Read Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" or at least the first chapter.

9. Watch more Jean-Luc Godard films (we would've gone with Ingmar Bergman, but his films make me feel very depressed, especially "Fanny and Alexander," it's more gut-wrenching than "Schindler's List").

10. Listen to more Turkish psychedlic music from the 1970s.

11. Save up money to buy a $500 antique Swiss cuckoo clock.

12. Drink more Counter Culture* coffee instead of Starbucks.

*-Company based in Durham, NC. Reportedly, they use beans from farms in Rwanda and/or Uganda.

Quote of the Week- Andy Warhol

Today we feature a quote from Andy Warhol (1927-1987) who was known for soup cans and for funky painting of folks ranging from Elvis Presley to Che Guevara.

There is currently a special exhibit dedicated to one of Warhol's other favorite subjects, Marilyn Monroe at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

Similarly, The Baltimore Museum of Art is featuring Warhol's later works in an exhbit that is named: Andy Warhol, the Last Decade. It runs through Jan. 9, 2011.

Here is the quip, which I can relate to since having a girlfriend these days seems harder than planning a trip to Tashkent, Uzbekistan:

"When I got my first television set, I stopped caring so much about personal relationships."

One has to wonder what Warhol would have made of Facebook!

We also want to wish another renegade and legend, French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard a belated happy 80th birthday (it was on Friday).

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Godard May Be Present for the Oscars

"Interview" magazine tweeted this morning that the legendary, and often off-beat French film director Jean-Luc Godard may very well be present when he is the reciepent of a lifetime achievement Oscar.

In a statement to the academy, Godard, perhaps best known for his 1959 film "Breathless," said that he is hoping to recieve his honorary lifetime Oscar in person.

Other lifetime reciepents of the award will include fellow film director Francis Ford Coppola, who has actually won the award for film directing, and actor Eli Wallach.

There were rumors that Godard was not planning to attend the Oscars.

Quote of the Day- Yves Montand

Ironically, our quote today comes from the much-admired late left-wing French actor/singer Yves Montand who was (ironically, again) born in Italy.

Montand appeared in many classic films around the world, including "Z," "Le Cercle Rouge," "Tout va Bien!" (a Jean-Luc Godard film with Jane Fonda), "Let's Make Love" (with Marilyn Monroe) and "The Wages of Fear."

Here is the quote:

"Pacifists are like sheep who believe that wolves are vegetarians."

SIDEBAR: Today is Belgian Independence Day. The Brassiere Beck, a Belgian place in Washington, DC, is celebrating with a $49 all-you-can-eat buffett today. We have jokingly referred to Belgium as Tintinland on this blog since the country is known for the much-adored comic book character Tintin.

Quote of the Day- Federico Fellini

Today, we continue our quotes with people, alive or dead, from the 32 nations in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, with a quip from the late Italian cinema maestro Federico Fellini (1920-1993), whose name we had apparently been spelling wrong for years (Federico not Frederico).

One of Fellini's best-known films "La Dolce Vita," made in 1960, turns 50 this year.

This particular quote sounds like something you might hear from French director Jean-Luc Godard:

"There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life."

Quote of the Week- Jean Luc Godard

During the month of May, we are quoting left-wing radicals. And, one of our favorite people to quote has always been Jean Luc Godard whom Japanese film director Nagisha Oshima, who has been called 'The Japanese Godard,' said 'he should be called the French Oshima.'

An excellent article about the 50th anniversary of Godard's landmark film "Breathless" is in the current issue of "Film Comment." They did not mention the '80s remake with Richard Gere, but we think we know why (it's a bit of a clunker).

Here is our quote from the 79-year-old legendary French film director who has made no secret of his left-wing views:

"One of the most striking signs of decay of art is when we see its separate forms jumbled together."

Though I am more to the political center than Godard, I was struck by how his 1972 film "Tout Va Bien!" with Jane Fonda which I recently saw for the first time predicted how mass commercial conglomerates like Wal-Mart would take over the world!

My Ten Favorite Films from 1960

This piece was inspired by an excellent article in "Film Comment" about the great French film "Breathless," which is one of the fabled films of 1960. It is Number Two on my list behind a familiar picture which features a 'shower scene.'

Here is my list:

1. "Psycho" (d-Alfred Hitchcock)
2. "Breathless" (France. d-Jean Luc-Godard)
3. "L'avventura" (Italy. d-Michangelo Antonioni)
4. "Peeping Tom" (d-Michael Powell)
5. "Eyes Without a Face" (France. d-Georges Franju)
6. "Shoot the Piano Player" (France. d-Francois Truffaut)
7. "The Apartment" (d-Billy Wilder)
8."Late Autumn" (Japan. d-Yasujiro Ozu)
9. "Spartacus" (d-Stanley Kubrick)
10. "La Dolce Vita" (Italy. d-Frederico Fellini)

The Italian cult film "Black Sunday" (d-Mario Bava) doesn't quite make the cut!

Quote of the Week- Jean-Luc Godard

Last week, on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire," we quipped that we had quoted John Waters more than any other film director except Woody Allen and Jean-Luc Godard.

Today, we are hence quoting both of them.

The latest Godard film available on dvd appears to be "Notre Musique" (2004), which I gave a modest six out of ten on the Internet Movie Database.

Here is this quote which Quentin Tarantino, a devout fan of Godard, who turns 79 on Dec. 3, seems to have taken to heart:

"A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.....but, not neccesarily in that order."