In other news, the owner Tom has stepped in to fill some shifts and see how his little business works from the front lines.  Welcome Tom to the neighborhood and let him and the rest of us know how we can make Moviecycle become a Market street must-stop-in-and-buy kind of place! Suggestions are welcome!

Here’s to the future!

The first title that caught my eye was Wonder Boys. One of my favorite movies, it stars Michael Douglas as Professor Grady Tripp, a college professor and has-been writer who is having a very bad weekend. His third wife leaves him, his crazy editor wants his long-awaited but still unfinished novel, his married mistress finds out she’s pregnant, and two students with their own issues add into the mix. The movie co-stars Robert Downey, Jr., Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand and Katie Holmes. Brilliant writing.

So I found my first film….what is the theme?

Crazy teachers.

So I grabbed Dead Poet’s Society, with Robin Williams daring to have individual thought at a boy’s prep school in the 1950’s. He is manic, strange and pisses off all the stuffed shirts by teaching everyone to “seize the day.”

Half Nelson stars Ryan Gosling as an inner city high school history teacher who befriends one of his students after she catches him doing drugs. The story is dark and strange, but the acting is excellent.

Since I didn’t want to much seriousness with this crazy teacher bit, I grabbed Art School Confidential with John Malkovich playing Professor Sandiford, a pompous art teacher who starts his class by telling everyone they should have become bankers.

Charlie Bartlett is about a boy who learns to fit in to public school after being booted by a bunch of private schools. His principal is Mr. Gardner (Robert Downey, Jr.), an educator who has lost faith in the system.

Also in the humorous department, we have Orange County, a film that has quite a few psycho educators. Lily Tomlin, Chevy Chase, Harold Ramis, Kevin Kline and my favorite, Mike White, who has some great insight on Shakespeare.

Notes on a Scandal stars Judi Dench as a teacher whose whacked out mind decides she needs to punish the new art teacher (Cate Blanchett) because of a tiny indiscretion involving an affair with a student. Don’t cross the scary old lady…

Lastly is Kinsey, the story of Alfred Kinsey, a biology professor who decides to investigate human sexuality and write the definitive study on it. I can’t decide whether he would be a cool science teacher whose honesty would be refreshing, or just a skeevy old guy who wants to know what’s going on behind closed doors. Good film though!

So that is my theme. I am sure we have a bunch more films that have super bizarre teachers, but 5000 titles is a lot to look through!

The Birds This 1963 classic has Tippi Hedren playing Melanie Daniels, a blonde with nothing much going on until a gagillion birds flock into town and attack the townspeople. What else needs to be said about The Birds?

Frenzy This later Hitchcock from 1972 takes place in London, where the Necktie Murderer is taking victims left and right. Sounds pretty bad, until you realize the police also have an innocent suspect in jail, who now must find a way to elude the law and prove his innocence!

The Man Who Knew Too Much Released in 1965, big Brass Actors James Stewart and Doris Day play innocent Americans vacay-ing in Morocco with their son, Hank, who gets kidnapped and taken to England. How they gonna get him back!?

Psycho Not many people have heard of this 1960 flick starring everyone’s favorite, Anthony Perkins, as crazy son Norman Bates. Somethings up with his mom, too…

Rope Released in 1948 and starring James Stewart, Rope deals with two young men who up and decide to strangle their classmate, hide his body in the closet, and have a dinner party. Crazy kids…

Torn Curtain This 1966 flick stars Paul Newman and Julie Andrews as a couple dealing with international espionage and deception after a trip to Copenhagen leads to Paul’s mysterious defection to East Germany. What’s up with that?

The Trouble with Harry Hitchy dives into some comedy with this 1955 film, but dont worry, it still has plenty of death. Basically, a bunch of people keep running into a corpse and don’t know what to do. Hilarity ensues.

Vertigo James Stewart is back in this 1958 romper which deals with an acnophobic detective hired to investigate a friend’s apparently suicidal wife. Doesn’t he have enough on his plate as it is!?

Okay, so maybe it’s not exactly the perfect transition into my mother’s day weekend post I was hoping for, but what better actor to ring in the holiday with than Danny McBride? After Dazzling audiences with his stunning performance of Rico in Hot Rod, McBride stepped away from his independent roots (All the Real Girls; The Foot Fist Way) into more serious roles, working with such Hollywood royalty such as George Clooney and Julie Andrews. Now at the top of his game, you can expect to see McBride in future classics Despicable Me, Your Highness, and more. Looking to fill in the gaps in your McBridefest 2010? Well, grab your mother and get on down to Moviecycle to find one of these fine cinematic McBride rides! And hey, if it’s sold out, ask us about special ordering or getting on the reserve list!

1. Hot Rod. Truly a cinematic masterpiece. By far the best comedy of 2007. McBride shines in this break-out role of Rico, the mechanic to stunt-superstar-wannabe Rod (Andy Samberg). Will Rico help Rod achieve his dreams? “I’m freakin pumped! I’ve been drinking green tea all goddamn day!”, Rico shouts excitedly.

2. Pineapple Express. Another stunning performance, this time with McBride tackling the diverse role of Red. Will Red be a saving grace to on-the-run innocents Dale and Saul (Seth Rogen and James Franco)? Or is Red pumping some dangerous iron up his sleeves (not a drug reference)? “I’m like the nerd at the sleepover who fell asleep at nine,” Red blushes.

3. Tropic Thunder. Cast along comedy heavyweights Jack Black, Ben Stiller, and even Robert DJ, McBride shames his A-list counterparts with his portrayal of Cody, the special effects specialist for the fictional film the characters are shooting on location in Vietnam. “Damian, what’s the dealie dude? Are we gonna blow up this tree line or what?”, Cody inquires.

4. The Foot Fist Way. Back from McBride’s independent days, The Foot Fist Way is both a gripping and harrowing look into the industry of childrens’ karate instruction. McBride is explosive in his role as Fred Simmons, whose goal is to be the best karate teacher this side of America. “Dentistry? I can’t even believe that’s something that’s real,” Simmons defends.

5. Eastbound & Down. McBride collaborates again with frequent collaborator Jody Hill (The Foot Fist Way, Observe and Report) in this gripping look into fictional baseball star (and ex-Seattle Mariner) Kenny Powers, whose efforts to raise his career from the dead are both fascinating and lovely. Airing on HBO, the show’s first season can be found on DVD for the rest of us. “I honestly just feel that America is the best country and the other countries aren’t as good. That used to be called patriotism,” Kenny swoons.

1. Paul Thomas Anderson. Yeah, I like Paul. Maybe it’s because he’s married. Maybe it’s because all of his movies are amazing. Maybe it’s because he likes Radiohead. Maybe it’s because he likes footlong subs. Who knows? Well, it’s actually because his movies are amazing and I’d recommend every one of them. I’m actually appalled that we have copies of Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood in stock because you great people need to get off your lazy butts and purchase them. No, don’t rent them, they must be owned! Okay, maybe you should rent them if you’re unsure. But hey, why don’t you purchase it from us, watch it, and then decide if you want it to be a rental or not. You know we’re cool with it!

2. Paul Rudd. Yeah, I like Paul. He’s in a lot of cool movies. I don’t even think I need to name any because they’re all good. Some of his movies I’ve enjoyed are Anchorman, The Baxter, Clueless, Diggers, Fast Track, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The 40 Year Old Virgin, I Could Never Be Your Woman, I Love You Man, Overnight Delivery, Role Models, Romeo + Juliet, The Ten, Walk Hard, and Wet Hot American Summer.

3. Paul Montgomery Shore. To be honest, I don’t know if I’m a fan. To be honest, Encino Man was great but that doesn’t mean I like Paul Montgomery Shore. Yeah, that’s his name. Shore, Paul Montgomery. You know the one. “Excellentè!” Wait, that was Teddy on Pete and Pete. Fudge… I don’t know. Pauly Shore is Dead is another movie.

4. Paul Giamatti. Brilliant Actor. Big Fat Liar = Big Fat Oscar. Big Mommas House = Big Millionaire House. He also loves the letter S… Sabrina, Safe Men, Saving Private Ryan (AKA Safe Men 2), Shoot ‘Em Up, Sideways, Singles,  Storytelling… All big fat shoe-ins for a good Giamatti gathering! No, but seriously, he’s pretty good…

5. Paul Newman. The legend who used my hometown of Carnation to set up a camp for sick children. Pretty legit, Paul. He’s also starred in some of the greatest movies ever made, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cool Hand Luke, and Cars. But seriously (I never saw Cars), the man was a screen legend, a natural do-gooder, and he has about the most classic name ever (take that, Lincoln!). He may be gone, but he’s still the coolest.