Conservative bloggers and talk show hosts were gleeful yesterday about certain facts. Although I doubt they prove anything, it’s so much fun to see liberals do a hissy fit about them:
"Why is it the progressive liberal that steals guns then go and kill movie goers and children in school has never been a NRA member?
Ft. Hood - Registered Democrat-Muslim.
Columbine - Too young to vote - both families were registered Democrats and progressive liberals.
VA. Tech - Wrote hate mail to Pres. Bush and to his staff. Registered Democrat
Colorado Theater - Registered Democrat, staff worker on the Obama campaign, occupy wall street participant, progressive liberal.
Connecticut School Shooter - Registered Democrat, hated Christians.
Common thread is that all of these shooters were progressive liberal democrats."
RIP film critic Roger Ebert, 70, who succumbed to a long bout with cancer. Thumbs up on a great career, sir. Many may not know, but he wrote the screenplay for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, directed by soft core purveyor Russ Meyer. I’ve never seen it. It is rated 5.9 of ten at IMDb. I suppose I should add it to my list at Netflix. Here are Ebert’s Top Ten personal favorites, in a alphabetical order. I‘ll comment at the end of each of his statements:
Aguirre, Wrath of God (Werner Herzog): The 1972 story of the travels of a Spanish soldier is "one of the great haunting visions of cinema." VF: I’ve seen it but don’t remember much about it. I’ll have to give it another look.
Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola): The 1979 Vietnam War film is "a grand and grave and insanely inspired gesture of film-making." VF: I’ve always believed it is vastly over-rated, despite many good moments.
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles): Said Ebert of the 1941 epic: "Its surface is as much fun as any movie ever made; its depths surpass understanding." VF: This is for critics and film buffs. I respect more than like it.
La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini): Made with "boundless energy," the 1960 film about a journalist in Rome was first reviewed by Ebert when he was a student at the University of Illinois. VF: I didn’t like it.
The General (Buster Keaton): This 1927 movie starring Buster Keaton is "an epic of silent comedy." VF: Silent films put me to sleep.
Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese): Released in 1980, the tale of a fighter is "not a film about boxing but about a man with paralyzing jealousy and sexual insecurity." VF: I respect Scorsese’s uncompromising passion, but I have a hard time watching creeps for two hours.
2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick): The 1968 sci-fi flick "is not concerned with thrilling us, but with inspiring our awe." VF: I like it, but every time I watch I find myself wishing Kubrick had shortened several scenes.
Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu): Released in 1953, the story of an aging couple who travel to visit their grown children is a "as simple and universal as life itself." VF: I loved it, but I think 95% of the public would not have the patience for this great slice of reel life.
The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick): The 2011 film, which follows a father, his wife and two sons, is a movie "of vast ambition and deep humility." VF: This is another film for critics and film buffs. I liked it, but it was not easy to sit through.
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock): Ebert thought this 1958 movie, about a private investigator hired to follow a woman, was Hitchcock's most confessional. VF: The universal praise lavished on this film makes me feel stupid. I just don’t get what’s good about it - and I’m a big Hitch fan.
And if there were a list of the luckiest guys going, I might crack it. It was another good Friday for the floating book shop. My thanks to all the people who made purchases, especially the gentleman who overpaid for Roberts Ehrgott's Mr. Wrigley's Ball Club: Chicago and the Cubs during the Jazz Age.
Vic's Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
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