Have a great Fourth of July movie marathon with this four pack of period films

With one of our biggest patriotic holidays of the year due tomorrow,I felt it was my duty as a pop culture citizen to recommend a couple of films to enhance your evening's enjoyment. After all,not everyone has all three seasons of Wonder Woman on DVD(lucky me!) and many folks will not be in the mood to brave the multiplex for the likes of License to Wed or Transformers(Live Free or Die Hard looks pretty good,in a blow'em up brain candy sort of way).


So,here are my Fourth of July Film Fest selections;I thought that historical period dramas would be best to really capture the spirit of the day. A couple of these choices might seem to be rather odd but just give me a chance,folks,to make my case here.

THE PATRIOT



"A Mel Gibson movie,Lady T? You're not serious!" Afraid I am. Yes, we all agree that Mel Gibson is crazier than a box of crackers that's lost all it's marbles,with a side order of freakshow fries but the man does know how to make a decent action film and boy,does this movie have plenty of that.

To offset any Crazy Mel vibes, you can always focus on Heath Ledger in a nice meaty pre-Brokeback role as Mel's eldest son and Jason Isaacs(aka Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter films) who plays his part as the evil Col. Tavington to the hilt:

THERE'S A TIME TO FIGHT


AND THERE'S TIME FOR TALKING



LAST OF THE MOHICANS

I know there has been several film versions made of the classic Fenimoore Cooper tale,including the 1936 film that's a major source of reference in this one,but Michael Mann's adaptation is one of the best American films ever made in my humble opinion.

Everything about it is dead solid perfect,from the casting to the amazing visuals and the evocative music that highlights and haunts the key scenes. Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeline Stowe are great but the most memorable performances come from Jodhi May as the doomed Alice and Wes Studi as Magua,the vengeful warrior who becomes the very thing he fears most. Why this movie didn't make the recent AFI 100 list is totally beyond me:





THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE

And now for something completely different....this look at the mental breakdown of England's George the Third and how everyone around tries to cope with the balance between finding the right treatment for him while maintaining his status as sovereign ruler of the nation is an interesting counterpoint on the Schoolhouse Rock version of the American Revolution that many of us know best.

It's also fun to see such the scheming and double dealing amongst those eager to take the reins of power away from King George who don't or won't see themselves as being just as bad as they think he is. Plenty of food for thought offered up here:





ROB ROY

This movie came out about the same time as Braveheart did and frankly,I like Rob Roy much more. The novelistic approach taken with the plot not only draws the audience fully into the film with as much concentration required for a reader with a book but give the actors quite abit of meat to chew on,performance wise.

Tim Roth recieved a Best Supporting Actor nom for his work here as the wickedly sly dandy Archie Cunningham,who is most handy with a sword and he plays well against John Hurt's deviously determined Duke. Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange practically explode off the screen at times,with their romantic energy and rather spot on nuances as a husband and wife. If you haven't seen this film at all,do yourself a favor and watch it as soon as may be. This tale of one man against the system is timeless and universal:

JUST A LITTLE TASTE



OKAY,HERE'S ANOTHER



Have a Happy Fourth,folks and I'll see you all on Thursday for some TV Talk! And if you want to see some fireworks, just watch some Top Chef or Hell's Kitchen reruns. Much safer and just as fiery.