Hollywood salutes America's working men and women on Labor Day

Besides being the traditional end of summer, Labor Day is the day to honor America's working men and women.

We won't comment on the fact that almost 10 percent of Americans are without jobs, the highest percentage in 26 years. We also won't point out that many Americans with jobs -- from the fry chef at McDonald's to the pharmacist at the corner drugstore -- will be at work on Monday.

Labor Day is still a three-day celebration often punctuated by parades (Frankfort's parade is at 1 p.m. Sunday), cookouts and, more recently, fantasy football drafts. In other words, it's a party.

Over the years, movies have featured about every kind of job out there.

Doctors and nurses have been portrayed in dozens of movies including "The Interns," "Patch Adams" and "Medicine Man."

Lawyers and judges were featured in films such as "Anatomy of a Murder," "Presumed Innocent" and "The Verdict."

Modern cowboys fall in love in "Brokeback Mountain," while Old West cowboys try to bring in the herd in "Red River."

Coal miners use violence against uncaring owners in "The Molly Maguires," while unionizing efforts are followed in "Matewan."

Fishermen face an unruly Mother Nature in "The Perfect Storm," while a milkman trades his cartons for boxing gloves in "The Kid From Brooklyn."

A young man's family sell electric appliances while he pursues a music career in "That Thing You Do."

Secretaries rebel against an uncouth and sexist boss in "Nine to Five," while a one-handed baker steals his brother's fiance away in "Moonstruck."

A woman fights for better working conditions at a Southern textile plant in "Norma Rae," while a man tries to connect with a student in "Teachers."

Here are six films available on video and DVD that are a tribute of sorts to working Americans.

"All the President's Men" (1976) -- Two Washington Post reporters (Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, pictured above) work tirelessly to uncover the Watergate conspiracy that helped bring down Richard Nixon's presidency. Other stars include Jack Warden, Martin Balsam and Hal Holbrook. Also worth viewing: "The Paper" and "Call North Side 777."

"The Choirboys" (1977) -- Police officers in Los Angeles blow off steam and fight bureaucratic higher ups in this film based on Joseph Wambaugh's novel. Stars include Charles Durning, Louis Gossett Jr., Perry King, James Woods and Randy Quaid. Also wort watching: "Fort Apache: The Bronx."

"Backdraft" (1991) -- Chicago firefighting brothers (Kurt Russell and William Baldwin) battle each other as they hunt an arsonist in this Ron Howard film. Other stars include Robert De Niro, Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Scott Glenn. Also worth watching: "Ladder 49."

"Blue Collar" (1978) -- Three bored autoworkers (Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto and Richard Pryor in a straight role) get drunk one night and break into the union office and set in motion a chain of events. Also worth viewing: "Gung Ho" and "Tucker: Man and Machine."

"The River" (1984) -- A man (Mel Gibson) fights the weather, a banker and other hardships to save his family farm. Other stars include Sissy Spacek, James Tolkan and Scott Glenn. Also worth watching: "A Place in the Heart."

"Tin Men" (1987) -- Richard Dreyfuss and Danny DeVito are rival aluminum-siding salesmen in 1963 Baltimore in this Barry Levinson film. Other stars include Barbara Hershey and John Mahoney. Also worth watching: "Used Cars" and "Glengarry Glen Ross."

'Inglourious Basterds' rewrites history as its heroes kill Nazis

Quentin Tarantino rewrites history in his latest film, "Inglourious Basterds," about American soldiers on a killing spree during World War II.

Brad Pitt stars as an American officer who leads a team of soldiers brutally killing Nazis in occupied France in the days after the D-Day landings in Normandy. The team hatches a plot to kill Hitler and other Nazi elite after learning they are supposed to attend a film premiere in Paris.

Tarantino is noted for violence in his films, especially the squirting blood that coats Uma Thurman after she hacks her way through Lucy Liu's samurai army in "Kill Bill." This time, the violence is appropriate. "Basterds" is a war movie, after all. It's also a revenge movie, which in Tarantino's case always ends in lots of bloodshed.

Tarantino is not the first filmmaker to target Nazis. Hitler and his kind were real-life monsters. They make great screen villains.

World War II films often focus on real-life exploits, such as Audie Murphy's life story as a soldier in "To Hell and Back." Some films tackle actual incidents, such as the specially-made bombs used to destroy German dams in "The Dam Busters."

Other movies about the war in Europe are about ways the Allies got back at the Germans. Some are serious, such as Frank Sinatra leading a prison escape aboard a train in "Von Ryan's Express." Others are just silly, such as Sylvester Stallone's "Victory," about a soccer match between a German team and a team of Allied prisoners.

Sometimes movies are about soldiers looking out for themselves, such as the caper film "Kelly's Heroes," with Clint Eastwood leading a platoon on a mission to knock over a bank filled with German gold.

A lot of World War II movies are about secret missions. "Operation Crossbow" is about infiltrating the base where German scientists are working on rockets. "The Guns of Navarone" is about a mission to blow up a German gun defending a sea lane in Greece.

Not all World War II films are about the Allies. James Coburn is a German officer fighting a losing battle against the Soviets in "Cross of Iron." Peter O'Toole is a highly decorated but sexually disturbed German officer suspected of murdering a prostitute in occupied Poland.

Here are six films available on video and DVD that are all about "killing Nazis," as Brad Pitt's character claims in "Basterds." Be warned: They are violent.

"The Dirty Dozen" (1967) -- The grandfather of killing Nazi movies. Lee Marvin is assigned to train a dozen condemned prisoners and then unleash them on a chateau of Nazi officers in the days before the D-Day landings. Other stars include Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, Charles Bronson and Donald Sutherland.

"Where Eagles Dare" (1968) -- A British officer (Richard Burton) and an American officer (Clint Eastwood) try to free a captured American general being held at an impregnable mountain castle. Also stars Mary Ure.

"The Keep" (1983) -- Nazis occupy a Romanian castle and free an evil force that starts killing Germans. The SS then has to work with a Jewish scholar who knows what evil has been released and a Greek guardian who has come to recapture the evil. Stars include Scott Glenn, Alberta Watson, Jurgen Prochnow and Gabriel Byrne.

"The Heroes of Telemark" (1965) -- Norwegian resistance fighters try desperately to destroy a Nazi plant building heavy water for use in the German atomic bomb program. Stars include Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris, Ulla Jacobsson and Michael Redgrave.

"Defiance" (2008) -- Three real-life Jewish brothers decide to fight back when the Nazis invade Belarus. In addition to killing Nazis, the Bielski brothers save more than 1,000 Jews from the death camps. Stars include Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Mark Feuerstein and Jamie Bell.

"Play Dirty" (1968) -- British soldiers set out to cross North Africa to blow up Rommel's fuel dump not knowing that they are being betrayed at almost every turn. Stars include Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Nigel Davenport and Harry Andrews.

Movies good enough to eat

Meryl Streep delivers another great performance as celebrated French chef Julia Child (at right) in the new film "Julie & Julia," while Amy Adams co-stars as the real-life housewife who sets out to cook every recipe in Child's first cookbook.
"Julie & Julia" bounces back and forth between Child's time learning to cook while in France in the 1950s with her diplomat husband (Stanley Tucci) and a few years ago when an American woman decides to blog about her experiences trying to make all the recipes in Child's first French cuisine cookbook.
The Southland's own Jane Lynch also co-stars as Child's sister, and she's getting a lot of buzz and even some Oscar talk for her performance.
Hollywood loves to make movies about working people, but cooking is one of those occupations that filmmakers have broached only occasionally.
There have been lots of movies about restaurants, such as "My Dinner with Andre," but the focus wasn't on the food or the cooks.
The Whistlestop Cafe is central to the story in "Fried Green Tomatoes," there was too much other action to call it a movie about cooking.
"Waiting" is a funny comedy about the goings-on at a trendy chain restaurant but again the food was secondary.
"The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" has a lot of elements of a cooking movie including an incredible cannibalism scene but doesn't quite make the cut.
If cooking or food is your passion, here are six films available on video and DVD that I think you'd like. Bon appetit!

"Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe" (1978) -- George Segal and Jacqueline Bisset star in this timeless whodunit about a killer who is bumping off the great chefs of Europe. Robert Morley steals the movie as a food snob. I don't think you'll figure out who the killer is until he (or she) is revealed.

"Tortilla Soup" (2001) -- Hector Elizondo is a master Mexican food chef raising three daughters (Jacqueline Obradors, Elizabeth Pena and Tamara Mello) and coming to grips with the realization he will eventually lose all three. Other stars include Raquel Welch.

"Spanglish" (2004) -- Adam Sandler is a great chef who just wants to run his restaurant but his insecure wife (Tea Leoni) scrambles things for everyone when she hires a Mexican woman (Paz Vega) to be their housekeeper. Other stars include Cloris Leachman.

"Big Night" (1996) -- Two brothers (Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci) in 1950s New Jersey pin their hopes for saving their Italian restaurant on a special dinner for singer Louis Prima in this underrated gem. Other stars include Minnie Driver, Isabella Rossalini, Liev Schreiber and Allison Janney.

"Chocolat" (2000) -- A small French village will never be the same after a single mother (Juliette Binoche) moves in and opens a chocolate shop. Other stars include Johnny Depp, Alfred Molina and Judi Dench.

"Caffeine" (2006) -- A battle of the sexes breaks out among the staff at a London cafe in this under appreciated British comedy. Stars include Marsha Thomason, Mena Suvari, Katherine Heigl and Breckin Meyer.