Debates Blog Pt.2

If you missed Part 1, check it out. There's already been some feedback and I will post all reader comments once all the topics are posted so please email, text or leave a comment on the site.

Just for fun, I put a link for each movie's trailer in the "case for" headline. It's crazy how far movie trailers have come, nowadays you can make any movie look good based on the trailer. Does anyone know how to get that job cause I'd be unreal at that? It's probably a union thing though.

** I am assuming that everyone has seen these movies, because I am going to reveal some things about them that could ruin the movie if you haven't seen them. And if you haven't seen them, I suggest you go rent them ASAP. Like right now.**

Movies Section  

Braveheart vs Gladiator

The Case for Braveheart: William Wallace just wanted to be left alone with his new wife, but instead the British enacted on their right of "prima-nocta", a horrible decision in hindsight. This movie has 2 all-time "chills" moments. The first is his famous speech "they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom"(a speech I used to quote at parties during intense drinking games). The second, and even more inspiring scene is at the end of the movie when he is getting tortured and yells "FREEEDOOOMM". What a great ending. Not to mention he might win the award for the sickest war paint in a movie. My only issue with this movie is that it is a full 3 hours long so the re-watchability factor takes a slight hit. However it won the Oscar for best picture and best director and it is absolutely one of the greatest war/bad ass movies I've seen.

The Case for Gladiator: The "chills factor" isn't quite as good as Braveheart, but is there a more inspiring scene then when Maximus reveals his true identity to Commodus? When you see this movie for the first time this is the scene in which you know the movie is going to be incredible. The fight scene's are amazing, especially the one man slaughtering in which Maximus kills like 8 guys, throws his sword into the crowd and yells "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? IS THIS NOT WHY YOU'RE HERE". Even Jay-Z thought that was unreal.

Verdict: As great as Braveheart is, I think the easy answer is Gladiator. The entire story is perfectly told, from the fall of a great general, to the rise of a great gladiator and his ultimate quest for revenge. I've said that Gladiator might be the best movie ever made, at the very worst it is top 3 and if you want to debate me otherwise let's get a case of beer get after it.

The Godfather vs Goodfellas

For so long it's been assumed that The Godfather is the greatest mafia/gangster movie ever made. However I see things as they are and I say no, um wait, you see things as they are not and you...wait, uh, you see things, do you see things as they are? What do you say when you see things?(Its been a while since I've worked a Seinfeld quote into the blog).

The Case for The Godfather: It's the original mafia movie and remains one of the most quotable movies. "Leave the gun, take the canoli's". The Corleone's might be the most memorable family of characters with Vito, Michael, Sonny and Fredo. I'd even include Connie, Carlo, Tom Hagen and Clemenza as part of the Corleone's because what is a mafia if there isn't a large extended family of people who may or may not be related to you. I'm definitely in the minority of people who think Sonny is my favorite character. When he beats the hell out of Carlo, pouring trash on him and using the trash can as a weapon. Genious. And the toll booth scene when Sonny get's whacked is just pure tommy gun at close range. The best part about that scene is after taking about 50 bullets from close range, one of the killers kicks him in the head just to seal the deal. I also noticed that the end of Training Day is a complete rip-off of this scene. You can't tell me otherwise.There are so many iconic scenes from this movie. The horse head, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse", Michael shooting Sollozzo and the police captain, and the climactic baptism scene. I think the most underrated scene, the one that sets the tone for Michael Corleone and Part II, is when he tells Carlo he's not going to hurt him, and then puts him in the car to get strangled to death by Clemenza.

The Case for Goodfellas:  If The Godfather depicts the mafia in an old fashioned, honorable way then Goodfellas is the anti-Godfather. It's violent, intense, gritty and based on a true story. Tommy DeVito, played by Joe Pesci, is an all time great character and his "funny how" speech single handily won him the Oscar. What makes that scene so great, and the character as a whole, is that you never knew if he was going to kill you right then and there. You can't tell if he is joking or if he is genuinely upset. In fact that scene is the driving force of the movie in that in the world of wiseguys, murderers come with smiles.  Besides the "funny how" speech there are 2 other exceptional scenes. The first is when Pesci shoots Spider in the foot which leads to the fascinating showdow between Spider and Tommy a few scenes later. Pesci is humilated by Spider and instead of insulting him back, he pulls out a pistol and blows him away. To which Pesci responds by saying "it was a good shot, what do you want from me". The other scene that makes the movie is one of my favorite quotes ever. When Billy Bats is released from prison and starts breaking Tommy's balls about shining shoes, and he yells to Pesci "go get your fucking shine box" and results the most vicious killing of the movie. And that boys and girls, is why you don't break balls...you end up in trunks.

Verdict: It's hard to pick against what is considered one of the best movies of all time, but I'm going to have to say I prefer Goodfellas. I just like the way Scorsese mixes in an amazing soundtrack along with incredible acting from Pesci, DeNiro and Liotta. Like the scene when Henry takes Karen through the kitchen and tells her he's in construction. Or the scene where DeNiro starts killing off his crew, played out to Eric Clapton's Layla is filmmaking at its finest. And I love the scene when DeNiro decides, without saying anything, that he is going to kill of his crew. He looks around the room, takes a drag of his cig, and realizes decides he's got to kill them. Its a symphony, a masterpiece from a legendary director making his mark on film history.

Reservoir Dogs vs. Pulp Fiction

Tarantino's style is entirely his own, shooting movies in chapters and masterfully working them together. These are his 2 finest crime movies and thus the comparison. (If there was one movie that some readers may not have seen it's probably Reservoir Dogs. So if you haven't seen it then don't click any of the links, except for the trailer, because it will ruin the movie) 

The Case for Reservoir Dogs: It's a minor lie that Tarantino's style is entirely his own. Scorsese was the first to incorporate great music into crime movies, and Tarantino uses that notion perfectly in this movie. He is unique in being able to tell a story in fragmented timeline. So when we first meet Mr. White, Mr. Pink, Mr. Orange and Mr. Blonde the major event that the movie revolves around, a robbery of a jewel store, has already happened (it's genious that you never actually see the crime or what exactly happens. Instead the audience is trying to figure out what went wrong at the same time that the characters are). Great premise for a movie, a crew of professionals pull a job except one of them is a rat. In true Tarantino fashion, the dialouge is terrific, especially the tipping scene. My favorite scene though is Mr. Orange's bathroom story, an amazing piece of directing, storytelling and acting. And although he his only on screen for a short period of time, Michael Madsen's Mr. Blonde makes the movie. His sickening torture of a cop, while dancing to oldies rock is truly messed up but amazing at the same time and is the signature scene of the movie.

The Case for Pulp Fiction: One of the coolest movies ever made (same can be said for the trailer). It's hailed as one of the greatest movies of all time, and I will say that it is unlike any movie ever made. Once again the story is broken into chapters, told in a fragmented timeline and the dialouge is outstanding. It saved Travolta's career (at least for a little while) and the dynamic between hitmen Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield is excellent and ultimately makes the movie. Like the conversation about a quarterpounder with cheese or talking about the show "Cops" when Travolta accidently shoots Marvin in the head. There are a few iconic scenes that will last forever and they are the dancing scene with Travolta and Uma Thurman (Uma Jerry, Uma) and of course Sam Jackson reciting a passage from the bible to a terrified petty thief. And Christopher Walken, in a small role, absolutely steals the movie with one of the best monolouges of all time that only he could have delivered. 

Verdict: My biggest critique of Tarantino is that he doesn't know how to end his movies. He tells an amazing story, in a style all his own, but his endings are a little disappointing. Pulp Fiction is an amazing movie and what's more amazing is that it doesn't really have a story. If you asked someone what the movie is about, they'd struggle to explain it. I just find the scene in the pawn shop to be so strange and messed up that it detracts from my enjoyment of the movie. It is a great movie, no doubt about it, but I think Reservoir Dog's is the superior movie. It has an excellent story and is played out with precision as it leads up to the climactic conclusion. There have been plenty of heist movies and plenty of gangster movies, but this is a very original take on the genre and doesn't get the credit that I think it deserves. Despite which movie you like better, I highly doubt there has been a more impressive 1-2 punch for a director's first two movies.

That wraps up the debates edition. As I mentioned, there's been some good feedback and I will post all responses and comments in the next post. If you agree, disagree, think I'm dead on or way off, let me know and I will throw it up on the blog. So until next time, as always....STAY SWEET!

Debates Blog Pt. 1

One of my past times is arguing and sometimes I pretend to be a lawyer living vicariously through John Grisham novels. So this idea came to me while having a "spirited" conversation about Kobe Bryant and Lebron James last weekend. Turns out that I enjoyed it so much that I expanded the topics, put them up for debate, and pose them to the blogging court. It also provides a perfect launching point for the much anticipated podcast segment that I have been working on. Due to the length of the debates I am breaking this up into sections. Like the Godfather I will try to fit a masterpiece into two parts, but will probably have to make a third, ultimately dissappointing sequel.

Sports Section

Kobe vs Lebron

This has many layers to it, yet for some reason seems incredibly simple to me. Lebron is the best athlete playing in the NBA, in fact he is a freak of nature. He can play every position on the floor and is the 1 player in the league that can physically take over a game. Kobe is the greatest competitor in the league and relies on his insatiable desire to win to cover up some faults, like he is getting old and doesn't drive to the hoop as well as he used to.

The Case for Kobe: This argument begins and ends with the fact that he has 4 NBA Championships to his name. He is the closest we've seen to Michael Jordan, in that he will do whatever it takes to win. His game even resembles Jordan's. Earlier in their careers they attacked the hoop, created scoring opportunities and got to the line at a sickening rate. As they got older, they developed a jump shot, particularly the post up, fade away. The biggest argument against Kobe is that he's had ridiculous talent around him. This is true, but can't that be said for almost everyone that has won an NBA championship? Jordan had Pippen, Magic had Kareem, Bird had Parrish and the list goes on and on.

The Case of Lebron: He can do it all. His numbers this year are mindblowing, 29.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 8.3 assists per game. What's more impressive is that those numbers are insanely close to his career average, 7 years of consistently crazy numbers; 27.8/ 7.0/ 6.9. Also in his favor is that he is a great teammate, someone who makes his team better. Yet you can't help but notice he hasn't won a Championship yet. I know he hasn't had as good of a team as Kobe has, but if Lebron is the better player, he should have been able to make up for it by elevating his level of play. I know that is demanding alot, but if we are all witness to his greatness, then we deserve a championship.

Verdict: It's Kobe and simply because of the championships. This will not be a debate until Lebron wins one. Lebron is the more talented player and seems like the better guy and teammate, but lets not forget the greatest thing about sports...take it away HERM

Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning

The two most influential quarterbacks of the past decade will forever be linked to one another. So who was better, the pretty boy model/actress dater or the cheesy, nerdy funny guy? When I typed Brady's name into Google Images, only 4 of the first 21 pictures show him in uniform. The rest are modeling pictures and shots of him and Giselle (and while this bothers me as a sports fan, as a warm-blooded male I have to applaud the guy).

The Case for Brady: It begins with Bridget Moynahan and it peaks with Giselle. If Drew Bledsoe doesn't get knocked out of relevance (by the Jets of all teams) then perhaps the world doesn't ever know the name Tom Brady. But Bledsoe's career is murdered and Brady goes on to win 3 Super Bowls in 4 years. Tom Terrific had a chance to cement his legacy as the greatest quarterback of all time back in 2007. Had they gone 19-0, making Brady 4-0 in Super Bowls, he would have been the greatest. Only Bradshaw has 4 rings and the only other person to compare him to is Montana. But he lost, then tore his ACL, missed a whole year, and had an up and down season in 09, making 2010 a legitimate concern for him.

The Case for Manning: He's a numbers guy, not only individual but team too. 4 MVP's, numerous passing records, a Super Bowl and 10 of his 12 seasons his team has had 10 or more wins. By the time he retires he will probably own every major passing record, as well as the award for funniest athlete to host SNL. Manning has been great since college and the expectations have always been high for him. He got the monkey off his back by winning the Super Bowl, but his playoff record is 9-9, including 1-1 in the Super Bowl.

Verdict: This was harder then I thought it would be. Wins and Super Bowls define quarterbacks, so I give the edge to Brady. The better team argument doesn't apply because the Patriots were never a dominant team, except in 07 and they didnt win it all that year. I can't get past this year's Super Bowl. If Manning was the greatest, he would have engineered a comeback instead of throwing the game losing INT. The ceiling is higher for Manning and if he wins another Super Bowl I think he might have the edge over Brady because of the individual accomplishments. But until that point the answer is Brady.

Movies Section

Tommy Boy vs Dumb and Dumber

They represent the gold standard of comedy in the 90s. Each can be quoted with incredible ease, can be rewatched with great joy and have remained funny, if not funnier, through the test of time. Chris Farley made his mark on comedy as a cast member on SNL, but Tommy Boy is what he will be remembered for. Dumb and Dumber is so outrageous that the very good story and excellent writing from the Farrelly Brothers is often overlooked.

The Case for Tommy Boy: Chris Farley makes this movie with his unique blend of charisma and humor. The Farley/Spade dynamic was perfect as the wise cracking nerd and the lovable loser. The highlights include the "brakepads scene" in which Farley destroys a couple model cars, "fat guy in little coat" and of course the awkward moment in the car in which Tommy and Richard break out into song. A few of the underrated quotes include...

"does this suit make me look fat?" ..."no your face does"

"Richard, who's your favorite little rascal, is it Alfalfa or is it Spanky....sinner"

"Try an association like... Let's say the average person uses ten percent of their brain. How much do you use? One and a half percent. The rest is clogged with malted hops and bong resin"

The Case for Dumb and Dumber: It has the single funniest toilet/fart/bathroom scene in the history of movies. Even without seeing the movie, that clip is histerical. But when you factor in the "X-lax in the drink" trick and Jim Carrey laughing on a scooter right afterwards, it makes for great comedy. Despite all the gags and behind the veil of idiocracy, there is a surprisingly good plot and excellent writing. Memorable quotes include....

"The first time I set eyes on Mary Swanson, I just got that old fashioned romantic feeling where I'd do anything to bone her"

"That's a special feeling Lloyd"

"Just when I think you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself"

"You can't triple stamp a double stamp, you can't triple stamp a double stamp Lloyd"

Verdict: If they were both on cable TV, which would you watch? I think I would have to go with Dumb and Dumber . It's one of the funniest movies of all time in my opinion with so many memorable images, moments and jokes. Who wouldn't recognize the orange and blue tuxes or the shaggy dog van? Does anyone look at ketchup and mustard bottles the same after Harry and Lloyd used them to douse the heat of a pepper? Who hasn't sarcastically asked a waitress what the soup de jour is? And I know everyone wants to try the old "4 boilermakers" trick they pull on Seabass. This was not an easy choice though. I love Tommy Boy and consider it in my top 10 funniest movies. But there's too much about Dumb and Dumber that make it a classic.

That wraps up part 1 of the Debates Blog. Part 2 is coming soon and there will be more movie debates to cover. I'm going to leave you with another quote from Dumb and Dumber, so until next time, as always....STAY SWEET!

"Hey I guess they're right. Senior citizens, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose. I'll be right back. Don't you go dying on me"