31 Days of Oscar (Week 2)

Time for another week of Turner Classic Movie's "31 Days of Oscar."

This time, rather than post the entire week (which you can find for yourself by clicking on their home page and selecting "Month Schedule," (two spaced below the world TURNER at the top), I am just including the movies I recommend. I haven't seen many of these movies, so please check out the schedule and schedule some time to watch some of these with your spouse or kids. It'd be the best education you can give them, and at this point more essential than Idol. [My comments are in brackets]


Monday, February 11 (all times Eastern)

3:30 PM Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
An idealistic Senate replacement takes on political corruption. Cast: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains. Dir: Frank Capra. BW-130 mins, TV-G, CC [ONE OF THE MOST HEART-WARMING MOVIES EVER MADE]

8:00 PM It Happened One Night (1934)
A newspaperman tracks a runaway heiress on a madcap cross-country tour. Cast: Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, Walter Connolly. Dir: Frank Capra. BW-105 mins, TV-PG, CC [THE FIRST MOVIE TO WIN THE TOP FIVE OSCARS. PROBABLY THE BEST COMEDY EVER MADE]



Wednesday February 13

8:00 PM Quiet Man, The (1952)
An Irish ex-boxer retires to Ireland and searches for the proper wife. Cast: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald. Dir: John Ford. C-129 mins, TV-PG, CC [EVEN IF YOU DON'T WATCH THE MOVIE, YOU HAVE TO TUNE IN TO THE FIGHT, ABOUT 90 MINUTES IN]



Friday February 15

2:15 PM Pink Panther, The (1964)
In the first Inspector Clouseau film, the bumbling French police detective tries to stop a notorious jewel thief from nabbing a princess' diamond. Cast: Peter Sellers, David Niven, Robert Wagner. Dir: Blake Edwards. C-115 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format [THE MOST UNDERRATED COMIC PERFORMER OF THE CENTURY. MAKES WILL FERRELL LOOK LIKE AN EPILEPTIC SQUIRREL]


2:15 AM Nashville (1975)
Country music stars get caught up in tangled affairs and an independent's political campaign. Cast: Henry Gibson, Lily Tomlin, Ronee Blakley. Dir: Robert Altman. C-158 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format [THE BEST AMERICAN MOVIE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN. PLAY YOUR FREAKING DAY AROUND STAYING UP LATE TO WATCH THIS, OR AT LEAST FOR AVITABLE'S SAKE TAPE IT!]



Sunday, February 17

8:00 PM River Runs Through It, A (1992)
A preacher's sons, one serious, one wild, look out for each other while growing up in rural Montana. Cast: Brad Pitt, Craig Sheffer, Tom Skerritt. Dir: Robert Redford. C-124 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format [I'M ALWAYS SURPRISED WHICH ONE TURNS OUT TO BE REDFORD]

10:15 PM Amistad (1997)
Africans on a slave ship headed to the U.S. mutiny against their captors. Cast: Morgan Freeman, Djimon Honsou, Anthony Hopkins. Dir: Steven Spielberg. C-155 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format [ONE OF THE TOP FIVE ACTING PERFORMANCES OF THE DECADE (HONSOU), AND HE DIDN'T EVEN GET NOMINATED]

1:00 AM L.A. Confidential (1997)
Detectives clash while investigating political corruption. Cast: Russell Crowe, Kim Basinger, Kevin Spacey. Dir: Curtis Hanson. C-138 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format [SO IMPRESSED WAS I WITH THIS, I SAT IN THE THEATRE FOR 20 MINUTES AFTER THE CREDITS ROLLED, UNABLE TO MOVE, JUST SAYING "DAMN!"]

3:30 AM Jerry Maguire (1996)
A sports manager strikes out on his own after he loses his job. Cast: Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, Cuba Gooding, Jr. Dir: Cameron Crowe. C-139 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format [SO WHAT IF YOU HAVE TO WORK IN 4 HOURS? LET'S PUSH THROUGH 'TIL DAWN, BABY!]