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Clark & Michael

Now laugh, my friend. Laugh out loud. Dance like no one is listening - Sing like no one is watching - and laugh like no one is eating.

I love you all.

Silver Threads and Flatheads

Indulge me in two musical interludes, won't you?

The first is a Ronstadt clip of her shaking her ass and belting out "Silver Threads & Golden Needles" at a concert in a men's prison from a show she did with Johnny Cash (which you can buy on cd and dvd)... if I can resurrect one of the most annoying catchphrases of the 90's: Schwing!



...and now for something completely different: The second is the video for The Fratellis' "Flathead"... I got their album (cd, sorry) almost exactly a year ago when I was in the UK - it took me a couple of months to give it a spin, and now I love it more and more every listen. You probably will recognize this tune from a recent iPod ad... I love this video...go buy the cd... it kinda rules (plus it's only $7.99... I mean, come on!).



Dance baby, dance...

The five movies you meet in heaven, part five...

One of the best for last. A perfect movie.

Let some scenes speak for themselves:

The five movies you meet in heaven, part four...

There are a lot of American comedies that deserve ranking here - not only because of the repeated (stone cold sober, I swear) viewings during my youth - because they are examples of some of the finest filmmaking this country has ever produced. Starting with anything by The Marx Brothers, Abbott & Costello, and the Three Stooges, all the way to "modern" classics Animal House, Fast Times, Stripes, Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety, The Blues Brothers, Caddyshack, Over the Top... the list goes on. But only one movie had Frau Blücher. And a super foxy Teri Garr. And Marty Feldman, Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle. And the definitive reading of "Puttin' On The Ritz" (sorry Taco).

Mel Brooks, hilarious, Black & White, and annoyingly quotable ("put the candle back!")... what more do you want?

So, without further ado, ladies and gents... Young Frankenstein:

The five movies you meet in heaven, part three...

Okay, here is installment #3... Yes it's two movies - but I am counting them as one (because anyone with a pulse would have to watch them both together...) It is my blog and I set the rules.

Did I mention that these flicks I'm endorsing are ranked in no particular order? Truth told, these Coppola films are at the very top of my personal list. Blah blah, blah blah blah. Blah blah.

No need for "reviewing" this dynamic duo, as each of you have already seen them (if this is not the case don't tell me, I don't want to know).

Watch them again. Repeatedly.


1. The Godfather (trailer):


1.5. The Godfather Part 2 (trailer):


I've yet to play the video game - but I want to. I don't have one of those new-fangled video gaming devices.

The five movies you meet in heaven, part two...

I first saw this flick sometime in the mid-90s and it broke my mind into 4000 pieces. This 1962 film, by director John Frankenheimer, was so far ahead of it's time it's mindblowing (hence the aforementioned 'breaking my mind into 4000 pieces' observation). Based on a 1959 novel by Richard Condon and staring Laurence Harvey, Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, and, in the one of the creepiest roles every to have made the silver screen, Angela Lansbury (yup, Angela "The babe from 'Murder She Wrote'" Lansbury. Really)... In fact Lansbury's role landed her character the #21 spot ot the AFI's list of greatest screen villains.

It's really impossible to write anything about this flick without giving too much away - so let's just say if you like films about intrigue, conspiracies, drug trips, incest, violence, and women sexily clad in strategically placed oversized playing cards, then this is the movie for you.

Note that this cold war thriller was pulled from theatres shortly after its release as the unconventional storyline predated a significant event in US history. Allegedly all involved (Sinatra, the producers, the studio) were understandably uncomfortable by the coincidence and decided to lock this masterpiece away for over 20 years, re-emerging in 1988 as a theatrical re-release.

More importantly, the Manchurian Candidate is supposedly the first film to ever feature a karate fight scene. The good people in Hollywood, California had the sense to include a sample of the scene in the film's theatrical trailer... check it out. Also, in real life Lansbury was only three years older than on-screen son Harvey (she was what some might call a "handsome" woman).

This movie is amazing... the trailer below will give you even less information than I did... but, trust me, the unpredictability of it is part of the fun. Jonathan Demme made a decent remake in 2004 that's worth a rental.

The Manchurian Candidate Trailer:

The five movies you meet in heaven, part one...

Let talk films, shall we? Okay, listen, it's simple: Jack Lemmon was one of the greatest actors to ever live. Period. Tho his dramatic work was incredible ("Glengarry Glen Ross" anyone? "Days of Wine & Roses"? "Missing"?), he was easily one of the greatest comedic actors of all time. If you have never seen the 1970 flick "The Out of Towners" then run, don't walk, and BUY IT! One of the funniest - and most uncomfortable - films of all time. Waaaaay before the world was introduced to Larry David, Jack Lemmon perfected lovable social awkwardness in harried businessman George Kellerman. Watch the scene below... if you don't run out and watch the movie then you love Dane Cook, James Blunt, and Will Ferrell in Bewitched. Bonus for those who watch the film: look for a cameo by a very young Lando Calrissian. AND DO NOT be fooled by the allegedly and assuredly shitty 90's remake with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn - unless, of course, you love Mr. Cook, Mr. Blunt, et al.



And the man kept his sense of humor until the very end. Below is a genuine pic of Lemmon's tombstone. God Bless you Jack Lemmon, wherever ye may be...