Road House

Road House

1989

Director: Rowdy Herrington

Writer: David Lee Henry and Hilary Henkin

114 Minutes

The best cooler in the business is Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott).

Though Garrett’s apprentice is a man named Dalton (Patrick Swayze), a hero with a dark past and a no-nonsense attitude. A coolers job is to control the bouncers in any bar throughout the United States. They break-up fights, escort troublemakers, and keep the atmosphere safe.

“Nobody ever wins a fight.” – Dalton.

In the film Roadhouse, Dalton is one of the best coolers in the bar business. He is invited to Jasper, Missouri to clean up a bar called the Double-Deuce. In the process, he encounters a man named Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara) who controls the town and the people living in it.

Then Dalton rips someone throat out.

In the scene above, Dalton explains the rules of the bar. After firing several people, he explains, ‘it’s my way or the highway,” which couldn't be said by anyone other than Swayze. The rules are as follows:

Rule#1: Never underestimate your opponent. Expect the unexpected.

Rule#2: Take it outside. Never start anything in the bar unless it’s absolutely necessary

Rule#3: Be nice.

“And what if someone calls my mama a whore?’ one of the bouncers asks.
“Is she?” Dalton replies.

Dalton treats this business as a business. Even though there are personal attacks and people trying to kill him, it’s only business. And that’s what makes this story "good" is that business turns personal when Wade Garrett is killed.

What makes this scene above important is you realize there are rules to an unruly place. And Dalton makes the rules. He knows them and enforces them.

And then he rips someone's throat out.

Dalton is a simple man with simple intentions. And within the film, he meets the sexy Doc (Kelly Lynch) and has some Otis Redding time with her against a fireplace. Like I said, he is a simple man.

"I thought you'd be bigger."

Roadhouse might be one of the great 80’s movies of this generation. It has cheese. It has campy dialog. And it has Patrick Swayze. What more do you need?

To the great Dalton - Rest in Peace, my friend.

Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman

1990

Director: Garry Marshall

Writer: J. F. Lawton

119 Minutes.

When screenwriter J.F. Lawton wanted to write a story about prostitution, he envisioned a dark, gritty tale about the underworld of selling sex.

What he got was Julia Roberts.

Pretty Woman is a story about a rich man seeking affection from a Hollywood prostitute where then he falls in love and they live happily ever after. At least, that’s what we are meant to believe - especially after both parties break the rules and kiss each other on the mouth.

Wrong move, sister.

Though this film is about selling your body, it also is about selling your heart. It’s an emotional, enjoyable film about stepping outside the box to find who you really are.

“In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight.”

In the scene above, Vivian (Julia Roberts) is being “courted” by Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) and after having strawberries and champagne, Vivian goes to the bathroom to clear her head. When Edward follows, Vivian tries to hide something behind her back.

Thinking it’s drugs, Edward begins to remove her from the apartment, telling her to take the money, and leave. But, Vivian reveals it’s not drugs, but simply dental floss.

“It’s dental floss?”
“I had all those strawberry seeds. And you shouldn’t neglect your gums.”

This piece of innocents and purity enlightens Edward (and the audience) to the real character of Vivian. She’s not a whore, she’s a woman in whore’s clothing. She’s a real person with simple intentions.

And she's lovable.

This scene gets you on board with Vivian. Had she done drugs, done the deed, and left the apartment, not only would we have not liked her, but Edward wouldn’t have invited her to stay the week. (Not to mention, the movie would have been over.) This good hygiene act is the catalyst to Edward’s invitation.

"Rarely I'm surprised," Edward says.

It's because Vivian is a good person. And in Edward’s life, she brings balance. She opens his eyes to what he really wants. And in the end, Edward changes not only his emotional journey, but his professional journey by not buying and selling, but more building.

He’s building at his company and he is building in his relationships.

But, it all comes down to dental floss.

A funny side fact is the Opera Vivian and Edward attend is La Traviata, which is a story about a prostitute who falls in love with a wealthy man.

Great writing, great directing, and a great props help us understand this dark, gritty tale about the underworld of prostitution.

And then there was Julia Roberts.

Top Gun

Top Gun

1986

Director: Tony Scott

Writers: Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., and Ehud Yonay

Maverick (Tom Cruise) came into our lives as a hotshot pilot and stole our hearts as a great wingman.

But mind you none, Maverick was a reckless individual. He took unneeded, unauthorized chances with himself, his plane, and his crew. He illegally buzzed the tower. He dropped below the hard-deck. And he even made decisions that lead to his co-pilot, Goose (Anthony Edwards), death.

Maverick was irresponsible.

He was chasing the memory of his heroic father. And with his death, Maverick felt uneasy about his place in the world, so he took life to the edge. And Iceman said it best, "Every time you go up into the air, you're unsafe. I don't like you because you're dangerous."

So, why do we root for him?

Because he is a hero. In the opening scene, Maverick, Goose, Cougar (John Stockwell), and Merlin (Tim Robbins) are approached by Russian MIG-28’s. They are forced to deal with the situation and as Maverick had no troubles with his MIG, Cougar freezes up.

Enter Maverick's heroics.

Cougar had his own things going on. He has a wife and a child. He was scared. He was a pilot filled with fear about his place in the Navy. And that fear took over. Once Maverick chases off Cougar's MIG by “giving him the bird,” Cougar shuts down. He can’t fly anymore, doesn’t have enough gas to figure it out, and now can’t land his plane.

Trouble sets in.

Merlin pleads with Cougar over the radio, while Maverick and Goose listen on the wire. Maverick knows what happened. He knows the fear. And instead of landing, Maverick doesn't land, disobeys a direct order, and goes after Cougar.

In the scene above, Maverick guides Cougar onto the aircraft carrier. Maverick talks him through it. He's right there for his fellow pilot and friend. And he saves Cougar's life.

After Cougar lands safely, he turns in his wings. With that choice, Maverick and Goose are invited to the Top Gun School.

But this scene above is crucial. It shows Maverick has integrity; he does the right thing beyond the rules and regulations of the United States Navy. He has a likeably nature, a heroic wit to his character. And even though he make poor choices the rest of the film, we know he saved the life of fellow pilot trying to get home to his family.

Maverick is a hero.

This film launched a plethora of Maverick and Goose costumes for Halloween, inspired many children to become Navel Aviators, and boosted Tom Cruise to international super star.

It’s because Americans love heroes. We love when people go against the rules for the sake of another man’s life. And we love the bond between United States Military personnel and their belief about how important the man fighting beside you truly is.

Maverick showed us that. Top Gun showed us that. And that’s why we love it.

An Education

An Education

2009

Director: Lone Scherfig

Writer: Lynn Barber and Nick Hornby

100 Minutes

A coming of age story usually has three elements, according to the great Blade Snyder. Your hero has a life problem. You’re hero goes about it the wrong way. And finally, your hero accepts their fate.

In this film, Jenny (Carey Mulligan) has a problem: she wants a better life for herself. She feels an Oxford education is the answer until she meets David (Peter Sarsgaard), who offers her the exact life she’s wished upon without any work or effort – a wrong way to go about it - but fun way. And finally, her acceptance is only hard work and effort can lead to the life she wants, regardless of the men and experience in her life.

She is educated, both by institution and by life.

Jenny encounters David, a lying, cheating con artists who gets young girls to fall in love, while his wife and child rest at home. She falls in love. And sadly, Jenny suffers the same fate as others, but her quick-witted nature and extreme intelligence overcomes this villainous man and in the end, completes her goal of an Oxford education.

She was wrong and now is right.

Even knowing the end, this film speaks brilliance to a generation of confused woman making choices in their life. This film is set in London, 1960’s, but the meaning is relevant in America, 1960 and America, 2010. The question remains: should I attend school and pursue my goals as an independent woman or marry and have the security by my husband?

The question continues to boggle the female population.

In the scene above, Jenny has found David’s business to be less than reputable. He’s a con man, even in his profession. He steals art. Upset, she flees the scene and wants nothing to do with David, but David reaches out and explains that all the things she wants in life aren’t free and it takes a little con to enjoy the finer things in life.

If she only knew he was also talking about her.

But here, she has a choice. She could stay and smoke cigarettes, listen to jazz, and watch great films OR retire home and practice Latin.

She takes the easy option and thus, Jenny turns to the dark side.

She knows it’s wrong. She knows this path is immoral. But, she was having too much fun to notice. Until finally, the fun ran out and reality set in. David is found out. He is married. He’s a liar. And he never comes clean - leaving Jenny to deal with her lost education and disappointed parents on her own.

But above, Jenny’s expression means she’s on the fence and must decide her fate. Why would I take studying over partying? Why would I do homework over listening to music?

A choice.

It’s a choice most have to make and each choice determines what kind of life you lead. And although enjoyable, often times the fun runs out and you need something to replace it with. That’s Jenny’s education. And she realizes she needs a real education, an Oxford education, for her life to be fulfilled.

In the end, this film deserves high praises for its realism and defiance of the norm. It’s a moving piece of cinema and a wonderful character arch. Bravo to screenwriter Nick Hornby (writer of High Fidelity) for adapting Lynn Barber’s memoir. It makes you want to shake Mr. Hornby’s hand and hug Ms. Barber for giving us this gift.

To close, Jenny might have gained an education in this film, but the audience gains a pure escape by watching this immature journey. In life, we are all that immature. We just don’t know it until we've matured and realize how stupid we were.

The Sandlot

The Sandlot

1993

Director: David M. Evans

Writer: David M. Evans and Robert Gunter

101 minutes

In the year 1962, Scott Smalls (Tom Guiry) moved into a new neighborhood. Having no friends and a life dominated by erector sets, he was a lost cause. That is until Scott met Benny (Mike Vitar) and the rest of the Sandlot kids.

Their roster included:

Catcher Hamilton “Ham” Porter
Outfielder Michael “Squints” Palledorous
Short-Stop Alan “Yeah-Yeah” McClennan
Pitcher Kenny DeNunez
2nd Basemen Bertram Glover Weeks
Third Basemen Tommy “Repeat” Timmons
First Basemen Timmy Timmons

Each player had their own personality, characteristics, and style. Though, each player didn’t believe Scott Smalls could throw a baseball, much less play on their field.

The Sandlot was their church and Smalls was unworthy.

It took Benny’s unique talent to make Scott Smalls a player, opening the eyes to the rest of the team and changing this new-kid-to-the-neighborhood’s life forever.

Smalls went onto become a sports announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers. That’s life changing.

It wasn’t just baseball that changed Small’s life, it was the bond between these players. It was celebrating 4th of July with them on the field for their only night game. It was Wendy Peffercorn and their adventures at the community pool. And it was having smores and sleepovers in the Sandlot tree-fort.

Friendship.

In the scene above, the team from the other side of town rolls into the Sandlot. They have nice, white, pressed uniforms and cleats to match. Ham Porter comes front and center and there’s a battle of wits between the two teams.

The following day, the Sandlot kids beat the crap out of the other side in a glorious victory.

This banter and beating, this face-off, this good vs. bad rivalry between two teams is epic to a child’s life. But, standing there calling the opposite team a “crap face” and your friends having your back is essential to a child’s life.

That’s what Scott Small’s gained the summer of 1962: friendship.

The Sandlot is a wonderful film because it’s a kid’s film made for adults. Kids relate to the conversations, situations, and dialog, but adults remembers it for the innocents, purity, and fun.

Their are Sandlots everywhere that help us remember.

In the end, it takes Benny ‘The Jet” to pickle a beast, save a ball, and become a legend to be remembered. For Scott Smalls, all Benny needed to do was say hello and his life was changed forever.

To Benny ‘The Jet,” we should all be so lucky to have a friend like that.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

2008

Director: Woody Allen

Writer: Woody Allen

96 Minutes.

Passion verses complacency.

Like most of Mr. Allen’s film, he’s poses a question. He has a debate. In this film, the question is: Do you want to live your life inside the box or outside? Do you want passion? Or do you want comfort? Do you want art? Or do you want the white picket fence?

For Vicky and Cristina, the question is tested in Barcelona.

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is structured and focused. Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) is free-spirited and impressionable. And then comes Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). Juan offers both girls a weekend away to see art, drink wine, and make love. Vicky is insulted. Cristina is intrigued.

They go.

Over the weekend, the rational Vicky gets caught up in a passionate moment with Juan Antonio and has sex with him. Though a mistake, this act sends Vicky to question her life choices. She balances between the passionate Juan Antonio or her boring fiancé Doug (Chris Messina). Luckily, Doug remains in New York.

Then Doug flies into Barcelona.

Juan Antonio goes onto date Cristina, where then his crazed x-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) comes in and the true questioning of a structured life begins. Cristina will find her impressionable life has unfulfilled holes that neither Juan Antonio or Maria Elena cannot fill.

Again, she's lost.

But our hero is Vicky. Vicky never forgot that night with Juan Antonio. Even when Doug makes spontaneous plans to wed in Barcelona, she is unimpressed. She has been turned on by passion, which is more exciting than complacency.

In the scene above, Doug runs into a colleague of his (and the colleague's wife) and the couples go out to dinner. During dinner, they talk about airline entertainment, installing cable lines, and decorating their homes, all which seem like boring topics to Vicky.

Is this what her life will be – talking about how expensive oriental rugs are?

And that’s the question we all must ask ourselves: is this what our lives will consist of? Dinner parties and golf outings? Or will there be passion, art, and love?

Mr. Allen poses the question, tests it, and in the end, the outcome is very realistic and pure. The outcome is exactly why this film didn’t do well at the box office.

Because it was real.

And most audience don’t want a real outcome because it reminds them of their life, their questions, and their own doubts. As Mr. Allen is trying to help explain these subjects, people go to moves to forget about them.

But whatever happened to Vicky and Cristina in Barcelona, changed their lives forever. And they have Mr. Allen to thank.

Shut Up & Sing

Shut Up & Sing

2006

Directors: Barbara Kopple and Cecillia Peck

Writers: Natalie Maines, Emily Robinson, and Martie Maguire

93 Minutes

George W. Bush might have been one of the most unpopular, hated presidents in American history. Although in 2003, he was one of the most patriotic and beloved presidents leading this country into the Iraq war.

Nights before the invasion, Natalie Maines of the Grammy Winning, country music band The Dixie Chicks, held at a concert in London and said these now famous lines:

“Just so you know, we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”

Those words echoed throughout the red states and the Dixie Chicks were finished. They were banished from record stores. They are blacklisted from radio. And they received death threats.

“Freedom of speech is fine, but by god, you don't do it outside of the country and you don't do it in mass publicly,” a random Dixie Chicks protester mentioned.

The Dixie Chicks disappeared. Gone. Finished. Done.

But as history shows, the Iraq conflict turned south. George W. Bush went from supported to loathed. And this country slipped deeper into war time failure.

But, the Dixie Chicks were still ghosts until 200 when they made their triumphant return. They released their album Taking the Long Way with their single “Not Ready to Make Nice,” which talks about their struggles from the backlash of Maines’s comment.

But, their return, although glorious, was not the strong point in this film. It was the fact the Dixie Chicks stuck by their word.

In the scene above, Maines made that comment about the president, which the reaction spiraled out of a control caused by the Free Republic and “patriotic fans” who boycotted their concerts.

But, she stuck by her word.

That comment cost them millions with a top-selling album on the shelves.

But, she stuck be her word.

That comment took the Dixie Chicks off the map, pushed aside and branded as traitors.

But, she stuck be her word. And the rest of the band, Martie Maguire and Emily Robinson,stuck be Maines’s word. And their fans stuck by Maines’s word.

Because that’s all it is, is words. And the patriotism of this country was based on people not being able to speak their opinion and found solace in declaring their independence to speak their opinion.

I believe it’s called Freedom of Speech.

But, the message in this documentary is that even when it’s not the most popular statement, standing behind your word in the face of adversity is the American way. That’s what our fore Fathers did. It’s what Natalie Matines did.

And she is more American than anyone that boycotted her during the Dixie Chick dark times.

In the end, the Dixie Chicks went out to win a Grammy for Album of the Year in 2007 and Not Ready to Make Nice won song of the year. It was a classic ending to a great story.

And when she returned to that London theater, she said this:

"I thought I'd say something original, so just so you know, we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas"

Like I said, a classic ending to a great story.

In Bruges

In Bruges

2008

Director: Martin McDonagh

Writer: Martin McDonagh

107 Minutes

“After I killed him, I dropped the gun in the Thames, washed the residue off me hands in the bathroom of a Burger King, and walked home to await instructions. Shortly thereafter the instructions came through - "Get the fuck out of London, you dumb fucks. Get to Bruges." I didn't even know where Bruges fucking was. It’s in Belgium”

Martin McDonagh had a long career in the theater, which carried over into film after his short “Six Shooter” won the Academy Award for Best Short, Live Action where then he funded “In Bruges.”

A perfect tale.

The dark comedy, brilliant acting, and well-told story mixed for an amazing piece of cinema passed over by most as “another Colin Farrell movie.” But, it isn’t.

It is so much more. It is bar none, the best Colin Farrell performance out there. And a wonderful film, to say the least.

One motherly comment: they say “fuck” 127 times in a 107 minute movie. That’s more fucks than minutes.

In the scene above, the opening, Bruges is laid out with Gothic, medieval settings with cobble stone streets and glowing structures. It’s a place untouched by time. It's a godly setting, but hellish place. And throughout the film, the topic of heaven, hell, and the middle comes up.

Purgatory.

That's what Bruges is: purgatory. The discussion of guilt and sin, while combining what actions these characters have carried out in their life explains why they’ve been banished to Bruges.

Even the painting, ‘The Last Judgment” by Hieronymous Bosch that these characters ponder revolves around their own hell, which is the theme.

Do you ever account for your actions in life? In Bruges, you do.

Bruges is not a bad place, nor ugly. But, it’s not the place Ray (Colin Farrell) wishes to stay and die in. His judgment has been cast – he made his mistakes – and now wants he moved on past this place.

In the end, I believe he does. I hope he does.

In Bruges is a fantastic film. Each line of dialog and subject brought up is recycled throughout the movie – nothing is wasted or abused – and everything is relative. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson’s performance earned them Golden Globe nomination, which Farrell ended up accepting. Both are deserving of any honor they received.

Though, In Bruges is a quiet film, it’s also important. It got buzz, but not enough for the world to enjoy it. In that, this film has lived its life in movie purgatory, where the selected few have dipped into hell and found it.

But, this film is not hell. It’s heaven. And Ray says it best:

“Maybe that's what hell is, the entire rest of eternity spent in fucking Bruges.”

And maybe that’s what heaven is, spending eternity watching this perfect film.

Jarhead

Jarhead

2005

Director: Sam Mendes

Writer: William Broyles

125 Minutes

One of the first films to tackle the Gulf War was a film not about war. Not really. It was about trained killers not being able to kill.

That’s what the military is capable of doing.

In the film Jarhead, the audience follows Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) through his military basic training, sniper school, and into the Gulf War. His best friend and sniper partner, Alan Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), follows him on the path, though these two characters believe such different ideals.

Swofford wants to get out. Troy wants to stay in.

This conflict happens often in the military – some men love it, others hate it - yet most “lifers” don’t get kicked like Troy does.

Troy enjoys the military. He enjoys the training, mission, and message. He enjoys being a killer. Though, he is never allowed to kill.

Conflict.

In the scene above, Swofford and Troy get their mission and patiently make their way to their target. They take good position, set their sights, and wait for the orders to fire.

Before the orders come, they are interrupted by a higher-ranking officer who calls in an air strike, taking away Swofford and Troy’s kill. Troy pleads with the higher-ranking officer, explaining to him for them to simply take the shot then call in the air strike, but it falls on death ears.

Troy flips out stating, “this is our fucking kill!”

These men have been trained as hyper-masculine men, trained killers. They have been programmed. They are machines. They want this kill. They need this kill. It is there release. It is their freedom.

Kill.

Jarhead explores the idea that even when you are trained to do something, if that action goes unfulfilled, it causes more conflict than not.

In the end of the film, Swofford, Troy, and the rest of their company fire their rifles into the air. They released the aggression, killer-instinct, and hostility within and find peace through this violent release. It's the only release they get. Yet, this mindset has permanently affected Swofford as he recalls:

“A story: A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper; his hands remember the rifle.”

It stay with them. The training stays with them. And the need to kill stays with them.

It is never released, only suppressed.

Titanic

Titanic

Director: James Cameron

Writer: James Cameron

194 minutes

American audiences need happy endings. We need satisfaction for the $11.50 ticket we paid for. We need hope.

Hope is happy.

Titanic is a story based on the maiden voyage of the greatest passenger ships ever built. Fictionally, a man named Jack (Leonardo DeCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) met on the ship, fell in love, and promised to start a new life in America. Together.

Yet that fateful night, the Titanic sank to the bottom of the Atlantic.

In the process of the sinking, Jack is one of the 1,500 people killed in the frigid waters. Floating on a makeshift raft, Rose lives. She is rescued. She is saved.

Yet, she is forever changed.

Rose lived to be over 90 years old, had children, and grandchildren. She experienced a full life from riding a horse on the beach to catching large sail fish to flying airplanes. Though, her heart always remained at the bottom of the Atlantic.

She never forgot the Titanic, nor did she ever forget Jack.

In the scene above, Rose has died. After dropping the “Heart of the Ocean” into the ocean, she retires to her cabin and passes away. Over a series of photographs, we understand she kept the promise to Jack to live a good life.

In death, her soul sinks to the bottom of the ocean towards the wreckage of the Titanic. In one quick motion, the wreckage turns into a fully restored Titanic. The bellman opens the door to the grand staircase where everyone who died that fateful night remains. They greet her with open arms and warm smiles.

At the top of the stairs is her love, Jack. He extends his hand, they kiss, and the crowd around them cheers.

This is the key to a happy ending. Even though our two main characters die in the film, there is hope that if you make a promise to love someone forever, in death you will be reunited with them.

Thus, Rose and Jack are reunited. And she will spend the rest of eternity with the man she loved.

Love concurs all is what American audience took away from this film. The spectacle of this ocean liner on the open water, the special effects of it's sinking, and the humanistic horror of that night is a bonus.

It was all secondary to this: true love lasts forever.

It did in Jack and Rose's case. And it does many more.

Clerks

Clerks

1994

Director: Kevin Smith

Writer: Kevin Smith

92 Minutes

Clerks – one of the great independent films of the decade – a film that launched the career of the great Kevin Smith and brought us the world of View Askew.

Clerks is about Dante (Brian O’Halloran) working in a convenient store with his friend Randal (Jeff Anderson) and each moment of his life represents the nine rings of hell (note: nine breaks in the movie) from dealing with asinine customers to balancing two love interests.

“Do you have that one with that guy who was in that movie that was out last year?” – Low IQ video customer.

A wasted life, to say the least.

Outside the store is Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (director Kevin Smith), two insulting, fast dancing, drug dealers stoners who hang out outside the Quick Stop Convenient store and undoubtedly represent R2D2 and C3PO from the Star Wars universe.

Entertaining characters.

In the scene above, the day has come to a close. Dante is counting the till and Jay and Silent Bob enter for a pack of smokes. When Jay asks if Dante wants to smoke some weed with them, Dante disrespectfully declines.

See, Dante holds himself to a much higher standard than everyone else. He wants something better. Better job. Better girl. Better life.

But, he’s not doing anything about it besides debate Empire Strikes Back, playing hockey with his friends, and trying to get back together with his beautiful, bitch x-girlfriend, while still dating his wonderful, loving girlfriend.

“Shit or get off the pot, my friend,” Randal comments. And that’s exactly what Dante needs to do.

When Jay leaves the store and only Silent Bob is left, Silent Bob delivers his only line in the film:

“You know, there's a million fine looking women in the world, dude. But they don't all bring you lasagna at work. Most of 'em just cheat on you.”

He’s right. Dante needs to realize his wonderful, loving lasagna-bringing girlfriend trumps the beautiful, cheating bitch x-girlfriend. He needs to go back to school. He needs to realize hanging out with Randal is unhealthy. And he needs to shit or get of the pot.

Kevin Smith took his own advice - shit or get off the pot - and made this independent film.

This film helped America believe that even a average guy from New Jersey can make a film about movie trivia and it still be successful. It was a movie for this generation. And everyone that saw and enjoyed this film, understood the characters in the film.

It’s because we are the characters in this film. Thank you, Kevin Smith for helping us understand ourselves a little more.

Fargo

Fargo

1996

Director: Joel Coen

Writer: Joel and Ethan Coen

98 Minutes

Carl (Steve Buscemi) gets pulled over for no tags on his car. He tries to convince a Brainerd police officer to let him and his associate, Gaear (Peter Stormare) go with some cash hanging out of his wallet. They are denied. To make matters worse, in the backseat is Jean Lundgaard (Kristen Rudrud) who had been kidnapped from the Lundgaard home earlier that day. When the officer asks Carl to step out of the car, Gaear pulls a gun and shoots the police officer in the head.

That’s when shit got real. In the scene above, Carl’s face reveals shit getting real. And truly, shit is real.

Fargo became an instant classic, putting the Coen brother’s on the map with an Academy Award for Best Writing. These brothers would go onto win three more Academy Awards, thus far.

Fargo’s premise of “based on a true story” is not exactly true, but the Coen brothers did this to suspend disbelief in the story. In reality, this film is based on two cases. Case one is attorney Eugene Thompson who paid to have his wife killed, yet the crime was foiled by the stupidity of the hit men. Case two involved Virginia Piper whose husband paid a two million dollar ransom for and Mrs. Piper was later found tied to a tree in a state park.

Shit = real.

Back to the scene above, Carl and Gaear have a simple job: kidnapped a man’s wife. When they are pulled over and Gaear shoots the cop and then hunts down two witnesses, killing them in cold blood, all which brings heat in the form of the ever-talented Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand)

This "beat" ups the ante in the story. This is no longer a smash and grab job. It’s smash, grab, and evade murder charges job. And this is particularly difficult with Marge Gunderson on the case.

But even she has her dark secrets. Even in her happiest times – her pregnancy – she goes on a date with another man. She never tells her husband and even though rejects Mike (Steve Park), it’s the only time she dresses up and fixes her hair.

This is a film of dark secrets in a bright place. It’s Brainerd, MN. It’s home to Babe the Blue Ox. It's home to mountains of white, pure snow. It’s a peaceful city with genuine people. And then shit got real.

In the end, Fargo explains what humanity is capable of in the hands of the fantastically stupid.

And then there’s the wood chipper.

Sunset Blvd.

Sunset Blvd.

1950

Director: Billy Wilder

Writer: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and D.M. Marchman Jr.

110 Minutes

A forgotten star and a hack writer is the story of Sunset Blvd. It’s simple tale with complex characters, which makes it fantastic.

How fantastic?

It’s #12 on American Film Institute’s film list. It’s #32 on Internet Movie Data Base top 250. And it won three Academy Awards, while nominated for ten including Best Picture.

But, why?

Because Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) is a train wreak. And Joe Gillis (William Holden) is not far behind her. And everyone wants to see a train wreak.

But, it’s also a Hollywood story, involving famous actors and directors playing famous actors and directors. It’s behind the scenes of one of the greatest businesses in the world, revealing how outlandish and psychotic Hollywood celebrities, past and present, truly are.

“I am big. It’s the pictures that got small,” Norma explains to Joe.

Norma was a famous silent star in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Joe is a struggling screenwriter in the Hollywood Age of paying your bills. Both of which need each other, but neither knows why…until the very end.

In the scene above, Norma has crossed over from reality to fantasy. She has dreamed of her return to the silver screen and even after killing Mr. Gillis, she believes Cecil B. Demillie has lights, cameras, and awaits his “action” call until Norma is ready. She creeps down the stairs and delivers the famous line:

‘I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. Demillie.”

But, Demillie isn’t there. Her dream is a nightmare, but she wouldn't know. Downstairs are police, reporters, and a dozen spectators looking to catch a glimpse of how mad this business can drive a person.

She crawls her way towards the camera, acting as though nothing is wrong. But, everything is wrong. She has killed a man – a man she loved - a man so willing to trade up his life as a struggling screenwriter for being a playboy for an insane cougar who picks up the tab. When he tries to leave, she shoots him.

It’s how Hollywood is sometimes. You have to do, what you have to do. Norma and Joe knew that all too well.

Sunset Blvd. is an usual film about an usual business. Swanson and Holden do a fantastic job carrying this movie and director Erich von Stroheim, playing Max, adds color as a supporting character and Norma’s first husband turned butler.

Weird, but true.

In the end, this movie explains why People magazines are sold. It explains why televised News programs have ratings. People want to see catastrophic events, especially when it involves celebrities.

At the movies, we hope these catastrophic events have happy endings. But in reality, we only hope these events didn’t happen to us.

Perhaps, that’s why Sunset Blvd is so great: it’s about real people in a fake world.

I guess, that’s all Hollywood is anyways.

Beetle Juice

BeetleJuice

1988

Director: Tim Burton

Writer: Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson, and Warren Skaaren

92 minutes.

Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Genna Davis) have problems.

They die. Their house sold. And horrible people buy, trash, and move in.

Problem #1.

Their solution is to scare them away in bedsheets, though Adam and Barbara are too innocent and harmless to have any effect.

Problem #2.

Their solution is to call upon their case worker, Juno (Sylvia Sidney), for advice on how to scare, yet Adam and Barbara are passed over as lazy pranks.

Problem #3.

Finally, their solution is to call upon the bio-exorcist named…ah, don’t say it.

In the scene above, Adam and Barbara have run out of opinions and committed to using this eccentric bio-exorcist living in their town-model. Once they say his name three times, they are transformed into the model and have to dig their way to solve problem #1.

Once “the juice” is released, he begins to cause havoc on both Adam and Barbara and their horrible house guests, but Adam and Barbara can’t face their kind nature of problem #2 and now the bio-exorcist has free reign.

Juno comes back and admits their mistake is their problem, problem #3. And now their lazy pranks need to be turned into life altering situation in order to save themselves and the family they want out of their house.

They fail with Harry Belafronte’s rendition of “Day-O.”

There reason why the scene above is important is cause they wanted and needed “the juice,” but once they had him they didn’t want or need him. It goes to show they some decisions we make are foolish and not well-thought out, even when you’re dead.

The bio-exorcist causes more headache for Adam and Barbara throughout the movie before releasing pain on the horrible house guests.

In the end, they could have listened to Juno when she told them to get the people out themselves. But, then we wouldn’t have a movie. Then, the horrible guests would have never left cause all Adam and Barbara would have done is sing “Day-O.”

It goes to show, as the audience, that our need for good decisions in films (ie: listen to Juno and don’t call the bio-exorcist) is in conflict with our want for escapism (ie: the bio-exorcist causes the pain and suffering we paid to see). We make decisions to watch films and movies for escape, which is why Transformers makes money.

It’s for the escape. Not for the decisions.

And this film plays the fettle of escapism, thanks to Tim Burton. And we paid to see the juice become a snake, have hammers as hands, and almost marry the daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder). That's why we come to see movies.

But, what was his name again?

Beetle Juice, Beetle Juice, Beetle Juice!

The Cove

The Cove

2009

Director: Louie Psihoyos

Writer: Mark Monroe

Humanity and what we are capable of is often tested in documentary film. We see rape, murder, crimes, environmental issues, gun control, governmental policy, oppression, depression, and greed.

And then there were the dolphins.

The Cove is about the mass genocide of dolphins outside the town of Taijii, Japan. This film explores why these slaughters are kept secret and how these killings are poisoning people around the world.

Our hero is legendary dolphin-trainer Richard O’Barry, who worked for the television show Flipper for many years, but now spends the remainder of his years helping these beautiful creatures.

“If you aren’t an activist, you’re an inactivist,” O’Barry says.

There was a general buzz around this film, especially revealing the unseen footage of what happens to thousands of dolphins that enter this specific cove.

They are murdered. They are stabbed. They are beaten. They struggle. They die.

The number of deaths: around 23,000 dolphins a year.

In the scene above is the bloody ending to hundreds of dolphins in one afternoon. Notice the colors of the surrounding area: grey rocks, blue boats, green leaves, and red water.

Bloody, red water.

Of course, killing innocent dolphins is wrong. Selling dolphin meat to schools and markets, which contain poisonous mercury is wrong. And why this was all kept a secret is wrong.

But, that’s humanity. We are wrong.

We often believe that the human race is civil and morally just. It’s not. This documentary proves it.

And you can say that’s Japan. But, it’s not. That’s America.

When we slaughter cows for steak dinners at Outback or murder chickens for our Caesar salads at Olive Garden: that’s America.

When we cook burgers on the grill for 4th of July or enjoy ham dinners at Christmas time: that’s America.

All that meat comes from animals. All those animals are murdered. There is pain and suffering. There is blood. There is humanity.

Though, the process needs to change and the regulation needs to improve in Taijii, we are all guilty. This process of murdering animals for food has been going on since the dawn of time.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin

Well said.

The Wrestler

The Wrestler

2008

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Writer: Robert Siegel

109 Minutes

Randy “The Ram” (Mickey Rourke) came into our hearts as an ill-faded, has-been wrestler who was knocked down by a heart attack and missed his window of any personal relationship.

Who else know this kind of emotional pain and suffering more than Mickey Rourke?

The joys of this low-budget feature are to see a man with one shot at redemption and failing miserably at it. He wants to be a good person, nice father, but he is “The Ram” – he only knows how to be “Ram Jam.” He struggles in his quest to regain a relationship with his lesbian daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) and tries to carry on a stripper-client relationship with Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) outside the strip club.

All fails.

“Ram Jam” is a failure, in all sense of the word. His time was passed over like Glo-worms and Cross Colours t-shirts. He tries to maintain his wrestler status, but even that is taken away. It’s a depressing story about accepting change in your life when you never wanted change in your life.

In the scene above, Randy meets with Stephanie at the boardwalk. They are trying to repair their horrible relationship, but Stephanie isn’t buying it. Not until Randy comes clean and is completely honest with himself and his daughter, does she really accept his new station in life.

“I’m an old broke-down piece of meat. And I’m alone.”

Often times, in life, we find our self at the crossroads of what we should have done verse what actually happened and having chosen the latter, it lead us down a darker path. We don’t want to die alone. We don’t want to be alone. But, that’s exactly what Randy the Ram is: alone.

He realized, once wrestling was completed, he had no one.

The parallel between Randy and Rourke are infinite. Both have been lone souls in a cruel world. But, in the end, Randy/Rourke talk about the people in the audience still believing in them. And that’s why they showed up to the rink that night.

Believing in people.

It’s the belief that when you’re out and alone, there are the chosen few who will always be there for you. And those chosen few will help others remember how great you are in this world.

That’s Randy. That’s Rourke.

The Wrestler was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Actor and Best Actress. It revived Mickey Rourke’s career and gave us a tequila-inspired lap dance by Ms. Tomei.

We see this film not for the performance, but for remembrance.

Thank for Mr. Rourke, for helping us remember.

Stand By Me

Stand By Me

1986

Director: Rob Reiner

Writer: Stephen King, Raynold Gideon, and Bruce A. Evans

89 minutes

Ray Brower went missing outside the town of Castle Rock. His body was discovered after an anonymous phone call and picked up later that afternoon.

His story was simple. He was a kid who took a walk and was hit by a train, though the story of the anonymous phone call seemed to be more interesting.

Four friends, two nights, and one on-coming train make up the story of Stand By Me.

After Vern (Jerry O’Connell) hears about his older brother finding the body of Ray Brower, he tells his friends Gordie (Wil Wheaton), Chris (River Phoenix), and Teddy (Corey Feldman) about it.

Immediately, they plan out their adventure.

Gordie is our main character. After his brother was killed in a car accident, his family hadn’t picked up the pieces and Gordie was left to defend for himself. The death was a sense of pain and unresolved issues with both his parents and himself.

Thus, Gordie sets off for the back Carlow road to find the body of Ray Brower.

The adventure was filled with winding railroad tracks, deep leach-infested ponds, and a rival gang seeking the same attention. But underneath it all, there is a sense of growth and maturity these boys gain; a realistic look at the world around them without the security of their family or small town.

Seeing that body crossed those boys into adulthood, like most coming-of-age movies accomplish. That body was the catalyst to the rest of their lives.

In the scene above, they have found the body of Ray Brower.

“The train had knocked Ray Brower out of his Keds the same way it had knocked the life out of his body.”

But when Gordie sees the body, he freezes. His emotional journey started with his brother’s death and until now, he has remained relativity unemotional to those events. Until now. He sees the lifeless body of Ray Brower and all he can think of is his brother.

He breaks down.

Chris, the leader, comforts him. He explains, like a brother, that Gordie is going to be okay. That's all Chris had to say. Gordie was going to be okay.

It works that way because this movie isn’t about the death of Ray Brower. It’s about friendship. It’s about an adventure. It’s about the journey between brothers. And sometimes, those are the only brothers you have left.

After the rival gang shows, they decide no one should take the body. And they decide to make an anonymous phone call.

They make it back to Castle Rock before Labor Day. What seemed like an innocent trip meant something more; before adolescence, before chasing girls, and before realizing how important friendship is. This was their last adventure that summer and what seemed like their last adventure before the rest of their lives.

“It happens sometimes. Friends come in and out of our lives, like busboys in a restaurant,” the Writer (Richard Dreyfuss) says.

In the end, this story is about remembering the adventures we took and the people involved. Even the Writer says he lost touch with Chris, but he knows he’ll miss him.

It's the truth.

Part of adulthood is realizing the friends that made the impact. The friends that made the difference.

In Gordie's case, it was Chris, Vern, Teddy, and the body of Ray Brower.

The Wizard

The Wizard

1989

Director: Todd Holland

Writer David Chisholm

100 Minutes

The commercialization of products after E.T.’s Reese Pieces have flooded the film industry since 1980. Subliminal advertising for soft drinks, franchises, eateries, etc. have all been apart of our movie-going experience.

And none were bigger than The Wizard - Nintendo promotional film at it’s finest.

Corey Woods (Fred Savage) crosses the country with his brother, Jimmy (Luke Edwards) and his love interest, Haley (Jenny Lewis). Jimmy’s goal is to make it to California, a place long remembered in his family's history, but once Corey finds Jimmy’s extremely talented video game play, he enters him into a video game tournament.

Along the way, Jimmy plays Lucas (Jackey Vinson) who dazzles Jimmy with the Nintendo Power Glove. Even Jimmy was impressed, yet fearful to play this great competitor.

In the scene above, Lucas and Jimmy have made it to the finals of the tournament, but the plot twists is when they both find out they have to play a different game. A new game. Any video game competition, it would be uneven if everyone played the game of their choice. Here, Nintendo introduces Super Mario Brothers 3.

It’s a huge reveal and pre-teen/teenage kids around the country were glued to their theater seats when the third installment of the Mario franchise was revealed.

We love this scene cause this was the medium that brought us the hottest, newest Nintendo Game. The movie in itself is average. Fred Savage is always entertaining, but it was just another 1980’s performance. More so, Christian Slater played Nick Woods, Corey’s brother, was clever, but nothing special.

The Wizard gave a generation a great video game and that’s why it’s remembered. That’s why we love it.

In the end, Super Mario Brothers 3 gave us the raccoon suit, advanced levels, and even magical whistles. If not for the Wizard concurring the game, we would have nothing to strive for.

Except, a Frog Suit.

Big Trouble in Little China

Big Trouble in Little China

1986

Director: John Carpenter

Writer: Gary Goldman, David Z. Weinstein, and W.D. Richter

99 Minutes

“I just feel kinda…feel kinda invincible.” – Jack Burton (Kurt Russell)

When Jack Burton gets to Chinatown, he had one thing on his mind: himself. He drives into town, enters into a gambling ring, wins some money, decides to help out his friend, and then gets his truck stolen.

Then shit got real. And thus, the story began.

The glory of Big Trouble in Little China is it mixes a magical realm with reality. The six-demon bag, the Three Storms, and Mr. David Lo Pan all add to this campy, delicious piece of cinema.

In the original script, Big Trouble in Little China was a Western. Jack Burton rode in on a horse, entered into a gambling ring in gold rush San Francisco, won some gold, decided to help out a friend, and gets his horse stolen. Similar story, might have been successful, but would have never achieved a cult status like this version.

“Everybody relax, I’m here,” – Jack Burton

Jack is an ego manic. He’s brave, in most sense of the word, though nervous to enter a world he knows nothing about; a world most of us know nothing about. But Jack leads the charge, helping his friend, and pursuing the girl, Garcie Law (Kim Cattrall). Yet, even director John Carpenter admits Jack Burton doesn’t almost nothing heroic, until the end.

With a body count of 46 bodies, Big Trouble in Little China is one of the great 1980’s resting comfortably above Eddie Murphy’s The Golden Child. From the Pork Chop express to a girl with green eyes, Big Trouble is Good Fun.

In the scene above, the final eight men are heading into battle. Mr. Egg Shen (Victor Wong), a local tour guide who has been fighting Lo Pan his entire life, brought a mythical potion for these men to drink and absorbed.

“It’s a six-demon bag,” says Egg Shen
‘Terrific, a six-demon bag. Sensational, what’s in it, Egg,” questions Jack.
“Wind, fire, all that kind of thing,” Egg replies.

In reality, Jack doesn’t believe in this black magic. Jack doesn’t believe in any magic, as he says, ‘it’s all in the reflexes.” Though even when Jack witnesses’ men flying, floating all-seeing-eyes, and running over an unharmed David Lo Pan (James Hong), he doesn’t believe.

“I'm a reasonable guy. But, I've just experienced some very unreasonable things.”

He doesn’t believe until he takes a drink Egg Shen's potion. After he drinks it, these eight men pile into the elevator and only THEN does Jack begin to believe. The black magic, he thus far denounced, runs through his veins and he realize he can only use magic to defeat magic.

He becomes ONE with the unknown world of Chinatown.

And this is why Jack is able to catch a knife out of thin air and throw it into David Lo Pans face. This is why Jack gets Gracie Law. And this is how Jack escapes the world of Chinatown.

Magic.

Often times, we are not believers in the energy, atmosphere, and even magic around us, but it’s there. And the more we denounce it, the more unbelievable it becomes. Until eventually, it's gone.

Or until Jack Burton rolls into town. Then he makes us believe.

“You know what ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like this?"
“Who?”
“Jack Burton. *Me*!”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Walk the Line

Walk the Line

2005

Director: James Mangold

Writer: Johnny Cash, Patrick Carr, Gill Dennis, and James Mangold

136 Minutes

If Johnny Cash had one chance in life, it was in the recording studio of Sam Phillips. Often times, we get only one chance to do something great. Most of us ignore, reject, or pass over a chance of a lifetime in fear of failure and more so, fear of success.

In the scene above, Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) almost missed his chance when he started playing the same old Jimmy Davis tune at his audition with Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts).

When Phillips stops him, Cash admits he didn’t let him bring it home, in which Sam replies:

“Bring... bring it home? All right, let's bring it home. If you was hit by a truck and you was lying out there in that gutter dying, and you had time to sing *one* song. Huh? One song that people would remember before you're dirt. One song that would let God know how you felt about your time here on Earth. One song that would sum you up. You tellin' me that's the song you'd sing? That same Jimmy Davis tune we hear on the radio all day, about your peace within, and how it's real, and how you're gonna shout it? Or... would you sing somethin' different. Somethin' real. Somethin' *you* felt. Cause I'm telling you right now, that's the kind of song people want to hear. That's the kind of song that truly saves people. It ain't got nothin to do with believin' in God, Mr. Cash. It has to do with believin' in yourself.”

Like magic, Cash sings Folsom Prison Blues - a song he wrote in the United States Air Force. It was something Cash felt. It was something different. It was something people wanted to hear.

This moment, a catalyst, started the career for one of the greatest musicians in history. Teaming up with his love June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), Cash and Carter toured the country giving us songs like, “Jackson,” “Ring of Fire,” and the title of this film, “Walk the Line.”

But it all started with the scene above. It all started with a moment in Sam Phillips recording studio.

As history goes, Cash wasn’t the only musician to come out of that studio. Superstars like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and BB King were all guided by Sam Phillips and his company called Sun Records.

Johnny Cash will forever live in our hearts, dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, looking like he was going to a funeral. Even when asked that question on why he dressed like he’s going to a funeral, he responded, “Well, maybe I am.”

It’s because Johnny Cash was. His one chance, pushing the envelope with Rock and Roll music might have felt like that to him - that each decision would have been the death of him.

Yet, he always managed to escape it.

In the end, if you were giving one song that let God know how you felt about your time here on Earth - one song that would sum you up – what would it be?

Johnny Cash’s was Folsom.

The Silence of the Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs

1991

Director: Jonathan Demme

Writer: Thomas Harris and Ted Tally

118

This entire movie is great. Every scene Dr. Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins) is magical, though he has less than 20 minutes of screen time. Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is a character of determination, yet chilling attributes. She’s a hero in all sense of the word.

There are reasons why films win best actor, actress, director, writer, and picture. It’s called an Oscar Grand Slam. There are three films in history that have done it. In 1934, “It Happened in One Night.” In 1975, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” And in 1991, “The Silence of the Lambs.” The reasons are keeping a simply story using complex characters and the best material (actors, settings, writers, crew, etc.)

Wish all films could do that.

The difficulty in this entry, choosing the best scene, is that Lector’s personality is so attractive and awe-inspiring. He cuts to the bone, choosing each word carefully, and creating fear even through a wall of glass.

When Lector touches Clarice’s hand, giving her back the case file, you understand the amount of respect and admiration Lector has for the young agent. When Lector gives her a call at the end, citing, “I’m having an old friend for dinner…” Clarice has it right when she admits Lector wouldn’t come after her because he would consider it rude.

And the psychology of Clarice – the haunting memory from her childhood, the memory that gives the film it’s title – Lector pulls that memory from her subconscious, explaining why her need to help others is so important because she tried to save the lambs, but the lambs kept screaming.

It’s beautiful.

But, the scene above has another psychology element. Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) wants to be a woman. He was rejected by the sex change operation hospital, casted away by society, and has no love lost for humanity. He is able to torture, kill, and remove skin with no regard to human life.

That’s what makes him interesting.

He kidnaps women, starves them for three days, kills them, cuts the “pieces” he needs, and dumps their body. The “pieces” are making Buffalo Bill a woman suit, made from real women (pun).

In the scene above, he dances in his woman suit and tucks his manhood between his legs, giving a sense that he’s almost completed the transformation.

Transformation is the key. He wants to transform into a woman. It’s the reason why he has the transforming moths in his house. It’s the reason why he kills these women. He wants to be something different, become someone else, and then be accepted by society.

Too bad he’s crazy.

But, this entire movie is about rejection and acceptance. Clarice is a woman in a man’s world, thus rejected. After her father was killed, she ran away after the lamb incident, thus rejected. Yet, she gains acceptance from her mentor and the FBI in the Buffalo Bill case.

Lector is rejected also, in the opposite. He’s a monster, though he was wildly accepted in his former life. He was a doctor. He was an intellectual. He was well liked and appreciated. And then he ate some people and was rejected.

Oh, the humanity.

In the end, any scene from this film could be talked about. The film is magnificent, which is why it wins the Oscar Gran Slam. But, I felt that any scene couldn’t compare, especially when you put on Goodbye Horses by Q Lazzarus, to Ted Levine dancing around the room dressed as a woman.

Even Kevin Smith agrees.

Rudy

Rudy

1993

Director: David Anspaugh

Writer: Angelo Pizzo

114 Minutes

Everyone has a dream. Some want to become doctors, lawyers, etc. Some want to become a basketball star in the NBA. Others want to travel the world. And some want to become parents.

Whatever your dreams, the impossibility and obstacles placed before you are what makes your dream tolerable. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

Rudy is a film about Daniel E. Ruettiger, a Chicago-based native who wanted to attend and play football at the University of Notre Dame. Like most kids in that part of the country, they all want to play football at Notre Dame. And like most kids, most are told they are not good enough, smart enough, or strong enough.

Rudy was all three. Sorta.

The obstacles in this film are what make this journey timeless. Starting when he was a child, his brothers, father, teachers, girlfriend, friends, priest, and bosses told Rudy "Notre Dame is not for everyone..." They made snide remarks, turned their backs, and joked about Rudy’s fantasy.

And he wanted to prove to them all...just how wrong they were.

See, most everyone knows what it feels like to have no one believe in you. Most everyone knows what it’s like to be the last one picked. And most everyone has rode the bench, waiting out their time to shine whether it be on the athletic field, job market, or even to your family.

If you haven’t felt it, then you are the minority.

In the scene above, Rudy comes in from playing football with his brothers, grabs dinner, and sits down next to his father to watch the Notre Dame game. When his father asks if anyone has anything to say before he starts his meal, Rudy replies with this:

“After high school, I’m going to play football at Notre Dame.”

That is Rudy’s dream. It was his childhood dream. Childhood dreams hold a strong connection that even at the most innocent, decent time in our lives where the world seems pure and optimistic, we have great, big dreams. And when we see the reality in this world, we often lose sight of those dreams.

But, Rudy wasn’t to be discouraged. He wasn’t backing down. He had a dream. No matter the obstacles, he was going to play football at Notre Dame.

And in spite of the characters, environment, and his own self-doubt and physical limitations, he did whatever he had to because that was important to him. The reason this film is great is because that type of dedication, perseverance, and desire is so rare in this world it can only be captured in Hollywood films.

Or in the military.

Even though Rudy was NOT the best player at Notre Dame and some offer their opinion that Rudy never did anything else with his life after Notre Dame, he did do this:

Daniel E. Ruettiger graduated from the Notre Dame and was a member of their football team.

In this life, what else does he need to prove?

My Best Friend's Wedding

My Best Friend’s Wedding

1997

Director: P.J. Hogan

Writer: Ronald Bass

105 Minutes

“Crème brûlée can never be Jell-O. YOU could never be Jell-O,” – Julianne Potter (Julia Roberts)

Character definition. Julianne is Jell-O, the comforting food you could eat at anytime. Kimberly Wallace (Cameron Diaz) is crème brulee, an expensive, yet proper dessert reserved for special occasions.

In this brilliant romantic comedy, two women are pursuing one man. One is his best friend. The other his fiancé. The movie is brilliant because you are rooting for the villain the entire movie. Julianne Potter is the villain. She is in the wrong. And if anyone but Julia Roberts played Julianne Potter, the film might have bombed.

Julia Roberts is a home-girl. She’s the interesting, fun friend at diner. She’s the confidant when you’ve accomplished something great. She’s the sister when you’re depressed. The world loves Julia Roberts, though in this movie: she’s a bitch.

She’s vindictive. She’s harsh, jealous, and hateful. But she’s Julia Roberts, so it’s okay. She's lovable. Something about her smile or how she carries herself, it’s impossible to hate her.

In the scene above, she’s trying to convince Kimberly, the bride to be, that her fiancé wants someone else in his life and does this by describing food products. Crème Brulee vs Jell-O. The groom doesn’t want something “irritatingly perfect,” but something “comfortable" (translation: He doesn't want you, he wants me.) But, it’s Julianne who wants something comfortable and she’ll ruin a wedding, relationship, and life to get it.

Why?

Because she wants her best-friend, the man she always knew she would marry, but skipped over. Now, he’s getting married and she’s going to be alone again, maybe forever. So she does what any women in her “right mind,” would do: steal the fiancé.

She fails. She should fail. She was the villain. And the villain should fail.

But in the end, she says goodbye. That’s what she needed to do. That’s what you’re supposed to do. Because in life, there are times when you need to let your family, friends, and lovers go. And it was Julianne's redeeming moment, kissing her best friend goodbye, so he could lead a more fulfilling life.

Bravo.

Julia Roberts might always be Jell-O. But, that’s why we love her.

Remember the Titans

Remember the Titans

2000

Director: Boaz Yakin

Writer: Gregory Allen Howard

113 Minutes

In 1971, America was on the verge of racial change and that change was met with resistance, hate, and violence. And then there were the Titans.

The T.C. Williams Titans covered the range of hate and bigotry in this country having one black coach, one white coach, and a mixture of black and white players playing both offense and defense. Their goal was to put the best football team on the field, but their obstacles were far beyond their comprehension.

Not only did the Titans have to face all-white schools with no racial tension, but they needed to face their own egos, limitations, and preconceived notions of one another. Finally, this team had to confront a community unwilling to adjust to color barrier. It was triple the conflict most high school football teams encounter.

But, their coaches Herman Boone (Danzel Washinton) and Bill Yoast (Will Patton) helped them understand that the football field holds no color, no race. Football is supposed to be above hatred. Football, in the simply sense, helps unite a towns, cities, states that face the change that needs to be accepted. Moreso, football will help unite thirty-odd boys who hate each other.

Boone and Yoast take their boys to camp at Gettysburg College where they experience pain, dehydration, and exhaustion. Yet, they still haven’t learned to get along. Boone makes them interview one another, but still they continue to hate. And finally, Boone marches them to the battlefield at Gettysburg and explains this:

“This is where they fought the battle of Gettysburg. Fifty thousand men died right here on this field, fighting the same fight that we are still fighting among ourselves today."

That does it. That was the turning point for the team. But, then the team returns to the real world.

And the real world hasn't changed, thus the team falls back into the same sticky, racially charged situation as before they left. You can take a hateful person out of the city and show them peace in the country, but when they return to the city, they'll most likely forget the country.

That’s what happened to the Titans.

They needed to remind themselves what they learned at camp and how unimportant skin color is. They needed to dance.

In the scene above, the Titans tell Boone and Yoast they wanted to enter onto the field a little “differently.” The teams forms five lines, packs together, and dances/sings their way onto the field.

They line up and continue to dance, showing themselves and the crowd they are one united front above everything else. They stick together past black and white. And every game after, they march onto the field the same way to have the same results.

Victory.

The T.C. Williams Titans needed this moment. They needed to dance onto the field to bond them together. They have long forgotten their days at camp and needed to remember what it felt like to join together as a team.

That's what makes teams great: the bond. And even though the Titans faced enormous obstacles, they had a bond. And their bond was together as one, just by dancing.

In the end, we take this from the final line in the film:

“…but before we reach for hate, we must always, always, remember the Titans.”

Their teams spirit lives on. The Titans live on. And their message lives on.

Sideways

Sideways

2004

Director: Alexander Payne

Writer: Alexander Payne, Rex Rickett, and Jim Taylor.

126 Minutes

Two friends, one more colorful, unique, and flawed than the other, set out for a week in Southern California’s wine country, which changes both of their lives for the better.

Miles (Paul Giamattie) is a depressed 8th grade English teacher and a struggling novelist, while Jack (Thomas Haden Church) is a C-list actor with infidelity problems. Together, they make for a right vs wrong, good vs bad, and screwed up vs really screwed up team trying to have a “great weekend” away. It’s unfortunate that these two define “great weekend” differently.

Miles defines great weekend as food, golf, and wine. Jack defines it as sex, sex, and more sex.

Miles holds marriage in high regards, though Jack simply sees it as a means to the end. This creates conflict, which is two fold for our hero.

Miles's external conflict is getting Jack to his wedding on Saturday, while Jack dabbles in several women along the journey. Yet, Miles's secondary, internal conflict is he's divorced, unable to move on, and is depressed.

Why?

Miles believed his marriage would last forever. He thought he was set for life. He holds his x-wife as such high esteem, where even Jack tries to remind him how imperfect she was.

“She had the best pallet I’ve ever known,” Miles explains, but with hope and love in his voice.

Why can't he move on? Because he cannot let go.

It happens. People hold onto love like old report cards or missing socks, when it’s better to simply throw them away. Though often times, we can’t. We hold onto objects, items, and love because we believed they were the one and only.

They are not.

But, this is true in Miles case. He cannot let go. And in the wake of it, Miles holds onto a rare bottle of wine: 1961 Chateau Cheval Blanc. He was saving it for his wedding anniversary that will never come to light.

And the 1961’s are peeking now.

Miles does make it through the weekend and gets Jack to his wedding, eliminating the external conflict. At the wedding, he runs into his x-wife and her new husband. She tells him he’s pregnant. He’s floored. At this moment, he knows all hope is gone. All love is gone. The hope that sometime his x-wife will realize her mistake and come back is over. Now, he can move on and eliminate the internal conflict.

In the scene above, Miles, having heard the news about his x-wife’s pregnancy, retires to a fast food restaurant with his 1961 Cheval Blanc. He drinks out of a Styrofoam cup, eating a cheeseburger, in the company of no one.

It’s not special, nor significant.

That information [pregnancy] is what he needed to move on with his life. He needed to let that relationship/marriage die before he could move forward. He needed to drink that bottle of wine in order to progress.

His arc was not only getting Jack to the wedding, but getting out of the slump and move onto something better.

And who is better than the beautiful Maya (Virginia Madsen), Miles’s love interest in the film.

All in all, Sideways is a dark comedy about rich characters. No one does it better than Alexander Payne, in that regard. He’s pure genius and unafraid to use real people, real situations, and real problems.

Alexander Payne uses his films to help humans understand humanity.

In the end, that’s why we should go to movies: to understand.

Bull Durham

Bull Durham

1988

Director: Ron Shelton

Writer: Ron Shelton

108 Minutes

“Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.” – Crash Davis

Besides this being the turning point in Annie Savory’s (Susan Sarandon) feelings for this man, this is why we love Crash David (Kevin Costner).

He’s no bullshit. He’s just Crash.

And there is more:

The amount of respect, dignity, and admiration Crash Davis has for the game of baseball is the movie. He’s confidently passionate. He’s plays his heart out. And he’s one of the greats.

Crash Davis is a true American: opinionated and solid.

It’s why baseball is the America’s pastime. It’s why we sit in the blazing sun, drinking warm beer, and eat plain hotdogs. It’s because of players like Crash Davis. And he is why we watch baseball.

But more importantly, someone with that much conviction, knowledge, and nerve to say this to a beautiful woman, then say goodnight, and then walk out the door is why we watch movies.

In the scene above, Annie is debating between two men to have sex with. One being Crash Davis and the other a hotshot pitcher named Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins). Annie's plan is to take “care” of one player each season, help him with his game, and then set him free for the major leagues. Here, her debate is between these two. But, Crash has another thing in mind:

“After twelve years in the minor league, I don’t try out…”

After some contesting statements, Crash delivers this speech. Nuke looks bored, but Annie is fixated, lingering on every word, and opening her heart (over her legs) to someone who really knows life, love, and baseball - she sport she deems "The Church of Baseball."

Crash plays no games, nor talks shit. He calls a spade a spade. He can’t beat’em, joins’em. Cause when you’ve played in the show (the majors), you know how great life can be:

“Yeah, I was in the show. I was in the show for 21 days once - the 21 greatest days of my life. You know, you never handle your luggage in the show, somebody else carries your bags. It was great. You hit white balls for batting practice, the ballparks are like cathedrals, the hotels all have room service, and the women all have long legs and brains.”

It’s Crash Davis...as his finest.

American Beauty

American Beauty

1999

Director: Sam Mendes

Writer: Alan Ball

122 Minutes

“I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world."

American Beauty is a social commentary about suburban life explained by one man, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey). In this life, some are happy, sad, gay, straight, in love, out of love, depressed, etc.

But, that’s the beauty of America. It’s the beauty of flipping burgers when you are a teenager. Or getting the car you always wanted. The beauty of an innocent young girl or realizing every material possession you have is meaningless if you are not happy.

Lester experiences all of these things on his quest for happiness.

And there is more. From floating bags to smoking pot. And great motel sex to getting healthy. And even Nazi china to self redemption. The beauty of the American Dream is so evident, so present in this film than in any other.

The scene above is the ending. Lester is shot in the back of the head by Col. Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper) after their homosexual encounter. The truth shall never be heard.

In the original script, Frank Fitts had a love affair with a military personal who was killed in battle, thus Fitts repressed sexual motivations come out when he suspects Lester is on par and Fitts makes his move. Unbeknownst, Lester is not gay and Fitts’s hate speech about “fags” is spoiled in his own hypocrisy.

But, this scene is about an expression. He’s happy. He realizes something about life that many seem to forget. Life is priceless – ever changing and wonderful. For the first time, Lester has joy.

“How are you?”
“It’s been a long time since someone asked me that. I’m great, “ replies Lester.

He stares at a picture of his family, once happy and then a gun is placed to the back of his head. In this moment, he could die a happy man. And he does.

Most of us are old when we die. We can’t move, back hurts, sick with disease, or taken when we are too young. Lester was happy when the bullet entered his brain. We should all be so lucky.

In the end, all this is a mystery. Everyone in and around that house had motivation to kill Lester. Jane (Thora Birch) and Ricky (Wes Bentley) recorded a conversation about killing him and are moving to New York. Carolyn (Annette Bening) had a gun in her purse and was caught cheated. Angela (Mena Suvari) got rejected. Buddy (Peter Gallagher) was having an affair with his wife.

I’m sure Col. Frank Fitts’s military career was spotless. Why would the cops question him? What would he say? Why even confess?

But Lester, our hero, is happy. The rest of the world can sit and clean up the mess because in life, we only get a couple moments of happiness. It’s better to appreciate life than to clean up the blood, sweat, and tears of others.

Lester knew that and simply put it as: spectacular.