Favorite Actor Monday

"Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant shit to me. You see, straight-out racist the sucker was, simple and plain, motherfuck him and John Wayne." -- Public Enemy, "Fight the Power"

"When John Wayne, the Duke, died, they found 44 pounds of undigested fecal matter stuck in his intestine." -- Some guy with a creepy mustache on an infomercial for a colon cleansing product, seen by me at 4:30 a.m. a couple of Saturdays ago.

Both of these statements are probably completely false, but the sentiments behind them are true. John Wayne was a macho, right-wing, jingoistic, war hawk and I hated him for it. I also hated him because he seemed to be in every boring movie my grandfather and dad watched on Ted Turner's Superstation WTBS. A few years ago, I had to admit to myself that John Wayne was also in a lot of my favorite movies, and I also had to admit that I really liked watching him act. People are a lot of different things, and John Wayne is no exception.

Recommended:
Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948)
The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)
Hatari! (Howard Hawks, 1962)
Donovan's Reef (John Ford, 1963)
True Grit (Henry Hathaway, 1969)
The Shootist (Don Siegel, 1976)

Favorite Actor Monday

Eva Mattes is unselfconscious and not artificial. She never acts like there is a camera pointed at her. I like her.

Recommended:
Stroszek (Werner Herzog, 1977)
In a Year of 13 Moons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1978)
Woyzeck (Werner Herzog, 1979)
Germany Pale Mother (Helma Sanders-Brahms, 1980)
My Best Fiend (Werner Herzog, 1999)

Favorite Actor Monday

I don't feel like writing much. I'm in a lousy mood. Like Bob Geldof, I also don't like Mondays, but unlike motherfucking Bob Geldof, I usually have to work on Mondays. Screw you, Bob Geldof. Seymour Cassel is way better than Bob Geldof. He is a versatile and empathetic actor, mostly picks great roles, and is capable of growing a fantastic mustache. Seymour Cassel, you're alright.

Recommended:
Too Late Blues (John Cassavetes, 1961)
Faces (John Cassavetes, 1968)
Minnie and Moskowitz (John Cassavetes, 1971)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (John Cassavetes, 1976)
Love Streams (John Cassavetes, 1984)
Tin Men (Barry Levinson, 1987)
In the Soup (Alexandre Rockwell, 1992)
Trees Lounge (Steve Buscemi, 1996)
Rushmore (Wes Anderson, 1998)
Animal Factory (Steve Buscemi, 2000)
Bartleby (2001, Jonathan Parker)
The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004)
Lonesome Jim (Steve Buscemi, 2005)