Top Five Movies of Patricia Clarkson

I really like, nay, I?m not ashamed, I love numbers. I love the patterns they make. I love the different ways that people remember them.

For example, if I say ?23? to anyone from Chicago, my guess is that they?ll think of Michael Jordan. You say that to any young person from St. Louis, and after 2011, they may say David Freese.

If you talk to anyone above the age of 35 who watched Saturday morning cartoons, I?d guess that three would be the magic number, yes it is, it takes three to make a family. Eight is double four and if you turn it on its side it becomes infinity.

For people older than that, seven becomes Mickey Mantle, though George Costanza introduced that same connection to sitcom fans of the 90s. 42 has become just as famous today as it was in 1947 as tributes and the recent movie celebrate that number and the man inside the uniform that bears it, Jackie Robinson.

12/7/1941 is a day that will live in infamy. 11/11 is the day leaders in Europe signed the armistice that ended World War I. At this point, I?m sure the numbers 9/11 entered your mind as you read.

It can go beyond that as I have friends that memorize digits of pi and others than keep track of all of the prime numbers. I myself am partial to 13 as a fan of the hockey mask wearing horror icon with my name. I think of buying jerseys of players that choose that number to take us back to the second paragraph. (Right now Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals wears that number. Shaquille O?Neal wore it for his 1996 Olympics uniform, and if I liked tank tops, I would own a copy.)

To take us back to the third paragraph, let?s talk about eight. It?s more than five. It?s less than 10. So, as a tribute to the lovely Patricia Clarkson, and my inability to pare down a list or add to it, I will choose the number that if you skate, it would be great, if you could make a figure eight. Here?s to you Patricia.

8. Far From Heaven

What I think I?ll always remember about this movie is that it marked the first time I?d connected Dennis Haysbert to Pedro Cerrano, the character he played in ?Major League.? I was flabbergasted for days.

7. The Untouchables

There are so many cool performances in this movie, but again, it is an actor from an older movie that held my attention. Realizing that the actor Charles Martin Smith, who played agent Oscar Wallace, is the same guy that was in ?American Graffiti? is just cool.

6. The Green Mile

The opposite of cool is Doug Hutchinson who gave a performance of the hated Percy Wetmore in this movie along with memorable appearances in ?Lost? and ?The X-Files? is the same guy that married 16-year-old Courtney Stodden.

5. Dogville

Lars Von Trier always seems to get great women in his movies. This one had quite a few with Patricia, Lauren Bacall, Nicole Kidman and Chloe Sevigny.

4. The Station Agent

Have you been thinking about the Red Wedding today? If you want to erase that taste from your mouth and see Peter Dinklage as part of a less repugnant ?family,? this is the movie for you. (It?s sad, but not THAT sad.)

3. Lars and the Real Girl

I understand Ryan Gosling being a sex symbol. However, after I watch this, his acting convinces me that he could never get a girl, no matter what entertainment blogs tell me.

2. Easy A

As I said in Emma Stone?s top five, I think the roles played by Patricia and Stanley Tucci in this one are the epitome of cool parents.

1. Good Night, and Good Luck

I loved this film. I still love it as it shows the potential for journalism in this country beyond telling us the latest exploits of Lindsay Lohan or broadcast opinion pieces on the opposite political party.

Agree? Disagree? Which movies would make your Patricia Clarkson top five?