Last Ten Films We've Seen (earlier in June): James Franco Directs

Greetings to our blog readers in Australia, Canada (Happy Canada Day), and Norway......

Today, we look at ten films we've recently watched. Many of them, like "The Lifeguard,""Cold in July" and "Before I Disappear"were independent films shown at the Sundance Film Festival. James Franco did in fact direct "As I Lay Dying," a film based on a William Faulkner novel, and it was almost an artistic success.

Perhaps, the most unique film on the list is "Blume in Love," a Hollywood studio with a highly controversial plot twist that would assure the film would not be made, at least by a studio, today.

The Turkish film "Destiny," which is on this list, was not released in the United State.

We got this idea from "Film Comment" magazine http://www.filmcomment.com

The images above are in reference to 1) "The Lifeguard" (though the film has nothing to do with "Baywatch"), 2) David Copperfield, the magician, is something we thought of for "Before I Disappear," but the film is not about a magician, and 3) perhaps, most confusing, we went with an image of a Maine lobster for "Cold in July" because Maine is one of the few places we can think of where it is actually cold in July (the film takes place in Texas).

Here is the list:

1. Hateship/Loveship. director: Liza Johnson. 2013. w/ Kristen Wiig

2. As I Lay Dying. dir: James Franco. 2013

3. The Lifeguard. Liza W. Garcia. 2013 w/ Kristen Bell

4. HairBrained. Billy Kent. 2013 2/Parker Posey

5. Blume in Love. Paul Mazursky. 1975. w/ George Segal

6. Destiny ("Kader"). Turkey. Zeki Demirkubuz. 2006.

7. Before I Disappear. Shawn Christensen. 2014

8. Cold in July. Jim Mickle. 2014 w/ Michael C. Hall

9. Force Majuere. Sweden. Ruben Ostlund. 2014

10. Sister. Switzerland. Ursula Meier. 2012.

Special Quote from Tom Stoppard

Since we were in Washington, DC, last week, we thought we'd share this quip from Tom Stoppard (b. 1937) as one of his earliest plays "The Real Inspector Hound" (1968) is being performing by Metro Stage of Alexandria, Va., until May 29 (which is Sunday).

The one-act murder mystery set in an English mansion, may sound like a Scooby-Doo episode (the animated cartoon which maintains a large following was coinceindentally written around the time o Stoppard's play) examines the roles of fate and free will, according to Wikipedia, and who are we to argue with them?!

Here is the quip:

"Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean where's it all going to end?"

SIDEBAR: I saw that Mill Mountain Coffee, which has four locations in the Roanoke, Va.-area (my hometown) has a sign which says "No Soup for You" for Saturday and Sunday as they don't serve soup over the weekend. I thought it was an interesting way of borrowing a phrase that became hip in the 19990s, though I wonder if customers who are older than Bob Dylan (he turned 70 over the weekend) might this rude and obnoxious. But, Mill Mountain does serve lobster bisque soup at some point during the week. I imagine there are recipes in "Good Housekeeping" and perhaps even back issues of "Down East" (a Maine travel magazine).

DC Diary- No Need for a Taxi Tonight

Since I managed to seriously lost and meander around aimlessly through Northwest DC on Wednesday night, my family who was eagerly awaiting my impending arrival on Thursday night (day four of our excursion) was delighted to see me arrive at our home away from home at 10:04 p.m. that evening.

If things had gone exactly according to my sincerest desires, I would've been dancing at the Gogol Bordello concert that night at the 9:30 Club. But, the show was sold out, and assuredly if I had gone, I would have not come back to the temporary residency until circa 2:00 a.m.

So, I opted to see the Finnish film "Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale," which is about how an archaeological expedition to Antarctica yields the discovery of a Santa Claus who has been frozen stiff for eons.

When I first heard about the film, I thought it might be a bit of a subversive take on Christmas, which I would not have objected to (I am a Festivus kind of a guy). But, in actuality, it is merely a quirky comedy that is perhaps just slightly more "A Christmas Story" than "Bad Santa" though the distinctive Scandinavian sense of humor which one can see in films like "The Kitchen Stories" (Norway) and "Together" (Sweden) would probably be lost on most American audiences.

So, as it was, since I got home in time, there was no need for the friendly Indian or Pakistani taxi driver who had bailed me out the night before!

SIDEBAR: We love this tweet from comic book artist/cartoonist Chris Eliopoulos, who is always a hoot: "My wife made lobster mac and cheese ensuring that I will die of a heart attack b4 I'm 50."

High School of the Week- Daniel Boone HS in Gray, Tennessee

We conclude our High School of the Week series today with a profile of Daniel Boone High School in Gray, Tennessee, near Johnson City, Tenn., where Eastern Tennessee State University is located.

The school nicknamed the Trailblazers won the 2010 Tennessee High School Women's Softball Championship in Murfreesboro; the team had a 41-9 record.

Daniel Boone HS has an enrollment of 1,300 students. The school principal is Roger Jackson. On Monday, the school serves a choice of a fresh deli sandwich (ham or turkey) or a turkey corn dog...........hmm?!

This reminds me an entry in the "Things We Learned on Twitter" today series we had here a few months ago about a San Francisco restaurant that was serving lobster corn dogs!

There is also a Daniel Boone HS in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania.

SIDEBAR: The BBC had a somber story about a zoo fire in Karlsrule, Germany, that killed 26 animals, including Shetland ponies, sheep, goats and a llama.

SIDEBAR TWO: On a lighter note, the satirical publication "The Onion" is 'reporting' that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is feeling confident enough to do something terrible again. Vick, as everyone probably knows, is a convicted felon who bred pit bulls for the sole purpose of raising them to engage in dog fighting. Vick is an alumnus of Virginia Tech which is playing a big ACC game on the road against UNC today, kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. eastern time. Paul the Octopus is apparently picking the Hokies (that is a joke!)

Silly Photo to Fill Space_ Myrtle Beach Lobster Van

And, with this entry I wish a speedy recovery to my good friend Peggy Duncan, a professional photographer in Bethesda, Maryland*. She came down with some fluke illness, but she is doing well. Apparently, eating lots of lobster (should you able to afford it) could cause a fluke illness of some sort too!

*- I should add that Peggy Duncan is a psedonymn just in case the real Peggy Duncan googles her name and finds this blog..........

True Confession Quiz (7 of 11)

Today's True Confessions Quiz comes in a True/False form as I ask my esteemed blog visitors (both of you) if I once participated in a men's bikini contest in Myrtle Beach, SC, when I was about 25 years old circa 1995?

Immediate family members who live in places like Provo, Utah, and Twin Falls, Idaho, are disqualified from participating as they know the answer to this question.

Lastly, the Lobster Van pictured here in not from Portland, Maine, but Myrtle Beach.

I imagine lobster dinners are one casualty of the recession, but then again shark attacks are down as well!