'Fox and His Friends'

The only problem with gay German cinema is that Netflix begins recommending a bunch more gay German cinema to add to my queue.

That and the penises.

'Odessey and Oracle'

The Zombies are on of the top 5 most underrated musical artists of all time.

Overshadowed by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys and the other heavyweights of the 1960s, The Zombles were a fantastic band that weaved a breathtaking tapestry of vocals over an unspectacular grab bag of guitar, drums, bass and keyboard.

"Odessey & Oracle" is considered their "Sergeant Peppers" or "Pet Sounds" -- their masterpiece. This is a most accurate description. A beautiful album that had just one hit.

'Barry Lyndon'

I often discuss film with friends. Part of the discussion is how movies are greenlighted and produced. For example, right now, Judd Apatow could walk into a movie studio office and ask to make a film about paint drying and he'd get a $3 million budget because everything that guy touches is turning to gold.

It's interesting reading about how the greats of the past got their pet projects made including Coppola, Scorcese, Kubrick.

For "Barry Lyndon," a 3-hour period piece about some dude, the studio OK'd the idea -- a film Kubrick really wanted to make -- as long as he cast one of the top 10 male movie stars of the time. So it was either Robert Redford or Ryan O'Neal playing ol' Barry.

'Jude The Obscure'

I visited the William J. Clinton Presidential Library recently in Little Rock, Arkansas. As part of the displays, a number of books that Clinton considered some of his favorites were on showcase.

Thomas Hardy's "Jude the Obscure" was included.

The story chronicles Jude, a poor orphan, who seeks an academic's life more so than anything. Then women happen. Screws everything up. As usual.

"Strange that his first aspiration -- towards academical proficiency -- had been checked by a woman, and that his second aspriation -- towards apostleship -- had also been checked by a woman. 'Is it,' he said, 'that the women are to blame; or is it the artificial system of things, under which the normal sex-impulses are turned into devilish gins and springes to noose and hold back those who want to progress?'"

Maybe Bill should've taken more notice. Probably would've saved him a lot of trouble.

'The Fox'

Sometime in July 1968, Betsy Gettelfinger purchased a copy of D.H. Lawrence's "The Fox."

She -- or someone who really loved her -- paid 60 cents for it. I own it now. I paid 30 cents.

For the record, the "fox" isn't the man -- or Henry. The "fox" is every opportunity that is either missed or taken in life. When it passes by, there's a burning in the gut. When you grab the opportunity, you feel like you've gotten away with something, like a sly fox sneaking a dead hen out of the coop.

Making Henry (or man) the fox was entirely too easy.

'Crime and Punishment'

I am a better person for reading this book.

'Nashville'

I could've lived a thousand lifetimes and not seen this movie, and still been better off.

It's entirely too long and boring. There's no flow or connection. It's rambling and drab.

I don't think the writing's very good, which is a shame because this film is built more on that and the music more than it is the acting performances or the camera work.

One reviewer called it a "patchwork quit" of a film. But what's good for a blanket is not good for the cinema. A completely overrated film.