10 Movies For The Rest Of Your Life

Guess who's back????

I know what you all must be thinking...ETC ETC ETC has the laziest blogger of all time. Well I can't argue with that entirely, however I will say this. If I had more time, in essence if I was lazier, I would have more time to dedicate to this blog. However more pressing things demand my attention and I have not been able to dedicate enough to this blog. But a snide remark from a co-worker known only as Bob really gave me a reason to write today's post (that and a lengthy bar discussion about movies). So a while back Bob asked me a question that demanded more thought than I anticipated. He asked me "if you could only watch 10 movies for the rest of your life, which 10 movies would you pick". Now at face value, that seems like an easy enough question to answer. You'd pick a few of the all time favorites, a few feel good movies and a few personal favorites. But then I began to dig a little deeper....

I mean 10 movies for the rest of your life?!?! I love Big Macs and all but could I eat them for the rest of my life? I don't know. But along that line of reasoning, if I eliminated Big Macs, does that mean I eliminate hamburgers altogether? So I really had to think long and hard about this topic and what I realized was is this; that my list says a lot about who I am as person, and certainly each person's list will inevitably say a lot about a person's personality (please excuse the alliteration). In fact I think this list might be as telling of an indicator as anything you could ask a person. For example, if you asked this to a potential friend or love interest, and they responded "you know, i really don't like movies" well then I walk away from that person before they have the time to tell me that communism is a misunderstood form of government.

But chances are any normal human being will able to provide you a list of movies that they hold dear. Now i can easily tell you my 10 favorite movies of all time, or even tell you what I consider to be the 10 best movies of all time. But asking a person to list 10 movies, and only 10 movies that they could watch for the rest of their lives...well thats a question that requires some serious thought. But I think this is a great question, and I think this should be used more often as a screening process for potential friends or love interests. Because in my opinion, and granted I am a sick person who LOVES movies and watches tons and tons of movies, this provides great insight into the kind of person you are.

So without further adieu, this is how I would answer the question "If you could only watch 10 movies for the rest of your life, which movies would you pick"

*Please note, these are in no particular order. Assuming I have all the time left on earth and can only watch these 10, I'm sure I would watch all of these movies an equal amount of times*

Dumb & Dumber - This is an all time classic comedy in my opinion. What makes this movie so great is that it's hilarious the first time you saw it (regardless of your age) but it gets funnier the more you watch it and the more you understand. The Farrelly brothers are comedic geniuses with movies like There's Something About Mary and Kingpin to their name but I feel this is their finest achievement. I saw this movie when it came out in 1994 when I was 9 years old and thought it was the funniest movie I had ever seen. It wasn't until I was in high school and truly understood every joke of this movie did I think it was a legendary movie. One of the  reasons I think I could watch this for the rest of my life is because in all the years of toilet humor, there has never been and will never be a funnier toilet scene than Harry's epic turn on the faulty throne. This movie is quotable and rewatchable and is absolutely on my list.

Old School - Comedy is a huge theme in my selections and let's be honest, if you could only watch 10 movies for the rest of you life, you have to pick movies that continue to make you laugh even when you can recite the entire movie by heart. This is the case with Old School. I mean who hasn't said "You're my boy Blue" or "actually a pretty nice little Saturday. We're gonna go to home depot, yeah buy some wall paper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath & Beyond, I don't know. I don't know if we'll have enough time". This movie changed the way I viewed comedies. I had seen Animal House and I had seen Caddyshack, but this really took the outrageous comedy to a whole new level. Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell deliver incredible performances that I will never get tired of.

Anchorman - This may be my most polarizing choice of my 10. However, I can not leave this movie off my list. I saw this move 4 times in theaters. You can ask the people who saw this movie with me for the first time how funny I thought this was. And they will tell you that I laughed so hard that I had tears running from my eyes at 3 separate times....in the first 30 minutes of the movie. I absolutely love Ron Burgundy but the performances from Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner are equally as memorable. And what's not to love about the mustaches? One of my top 2 Halloween's of my life was when I dressed in full suit, donned a stellar wig and powerful mustache and stayed in character as Papa Burgundy all night. I drank scotch and made claims like "I'm kind of a big deal, people know me" all night. It was fantastic. I can peform this movie as a 1 man show on Broadway and I still find it hilarious, so this is 100% on my list.

Wedding Crashers - (are you picking up a theme yet) I could make a case for this as the funniest movie I've ever seen. The first hour of this movie is non-stop, over the top, outrageous humor that stands against some of the greatest hours of a comedy move ever. A lot of people knock this movie for the "chick flick" element that dominates the end of the movie, however I think that that part makes this movie even stronger than its incredible comedic introduction. Rachel McAdams makes every guy fall in love with her and proves that shes not just a one trick pony in The Notebook. But let's not overlook the incredible quotability of this movie, like "stage 5 clinger" or "lock it up" among the many unreal quotes. And let's not forget the break out role of "Sack" aka Bradley Cooper who has emerged as a legitimate Hollywood A-Lister. Bottom line is that I never get sick of this movie, and its absolutely part of my 10 FOREVER list.

A Few Good Men - This is a no brainer in my opinion. This has one of the most iconic lines in all of movie history. Anyone over the age of 18 has heard the line "You can't handle the truth" (I arbitrarily picked the age of 18 but I think that my case holds water). I absolutely love this movie for many reasons. Not only is it incredibly gripping and riveting, but it also has moments of great comedic value. Tom Cruise delivers one of his best performances ever and Jack Nicholson, despite appearing on screen for only 14 minutes, provides a character that will last forever. Nicholson absolutely commands the screen in the short period that he appears and gives us some great quotes (besides the afore-mentioned "truth" quote) like "i want you to stand there in your faggoty white uniform and extend me some fucking courtesy". And I cannot mention A Few Good Men without mentioning Kevin Bacon and the most underrated quote of the movie "You're a lousy fucking softball player Jack"

Gladiator - I can and I have made a case that Gladiator is the best movie that I have seen....ever. The story of Maximus, a powerful general who becomes a slave and fights for his freedom as a gladiator is one of the finest character arc's I've ever seen. Not only is the story incredible, but the film making and cinematography is phenomenal as well. There is a scene in which Maximus (played to perfection by Russell Crowe) first lays eyes on the Roman Colosseum. The character is supposed to be in awe but not only is Maximus taken aback by the sight of this historic structure, but the audience is amazed as well by the incredible re-creation of the building that everyone only knows today by its ruins. And how can you forget the unreal speech Maximus delivers to Commodus, the man who ordered his death, in which hes says "my name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the armies of the north, General of the felix legions. Loyal servant to the true emperor of Rome, Marcus Arelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife...and I will have my vengeance, in this life of the next". It really doesn't get much better than this movie.

Forrest Gump - I could easily make a case for this being as good or better than Gladiator. What I love about this movie is that it has everything you can possibly ask for in a film. It is very funny, there are great action sequences, its tragically sad but at the same time creates an amazing feel good story. All at once this movie is about friendship, love, relationships, war, family, heartbreak, despair, triumph and perseverance while covering every noteworthy event in American history from 1950 to 1994. Tom Hanks won an Academy Award as the title character and I feel that an Oscar, while being the ultimate award for an actor,  is not enough recognition for a performance that transcends film. Gump, for lack of a better term is slow, but Hanks was able to connect with all of us by displaying character traits that everyone can relate to. We all have had a best friend, been hopelessly in love, felt overwhelmed and done illogical things just because we wanted to do it. And we've all heard the cliched quote from this movie that "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get"

Goodfellas - I find this to be one of the most influential movies of all time. People often compare and contrast this movie with The Godfather but in my opinion you simply cannot compare the two films. Godfather is so historic and so classic that people write it off, much the way people write off "Moby Dick" or "The Great Gatsby" as just another classic, without ever giving them their due recognition. Godfather gives us so many great quotes and scenes that are forever apart of the American consciousness that we assume no other mafia movie could ever be as good. Having said that, I find Goodfellas provides us with an intense, gritty, realistic portrayal of what life is really like in the mafia. Organized crime is not glorified in this movie, rather we are given a unique insight into life as ganster. The characters are disturbed, psychotic sociopaths that have an incredibly captivating quality. As you watch the movie you can't help but be drawn into the mafia lifestyle. And who can forget the absolutely legendary performances from Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci. Pesci's "how am I funny" speech is without question one of the most famous of all time. Some may disagree with this choice because of its length and straying storylines but in my opinion there is no better glimpse into the life of a gangster than this Scorsese classic.

The Sandlot - While this movie will not be in any critics top 10 list of all time greatest movies, The Sandlot is on this list without question. Perhaps the biggest contributing factor is the nostalgic angle that brings me back to my childhood. This was one of my favorite movies as a kid, but the true test of a "for the rest of my life movie" is that this movie has improved with age. The quotability of this movie is off the charts with classics like "you're killing me smalls" to the more inspirational "heroes get remembered, but legends never die". This classic tale of youth baseball -turned epic adventure is one that I can rewatch over and over again. I truly believe this movie will survive the test of time, not only with me as I get older, but that it will be a movie I can play for my kids and they will enjoy it as well. (If they don't like it.....well I haven't even considered that as a possibility, so ask me about this in like 20 years)

Good Will Hunting - This is another movie that I put in my top 5 of all time and could easily make a case for it to be in the top 3. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck gave us one of the finest screenplays of all time. The writing and dialogue are absolutely incredible. There are so many great scenes like when Damon tells a Harvard snob that he spent 130 grand on an education he could have gotten for $1.50 in late charges at the public library. Or when Affleck goes on a job interview for Damon and asks for an out of pocket cash retainer. But the two scenes that stand out, that make this movie legendary in my opinion are the scene when Damon and Williams meet on the park bench, and when Damon and Affleck talk about their futures at the end of the move. The scene with Williams single-handedly won him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in which he told Will Hunting that " If I ask you about women, you'd probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You're a tough kid. And I'd ask you about war, you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, "once more unto the breach dear friends." But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. I'd ask you about love, you'd probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable" . It's one of the best monologues in movie history and it totally defined a generation of people who used the internet to understand the finer life points. 

And the scene with Damon and Affleck was an asbolutely perfect way to end the movie. Not only because its a fantastic display of screenwriting, but also because most people can find a Will or Chuckie in their lives and this line summed up all of our thoughts. "Every day I come by your house and I pick you up. And we go out. We have a few drinks, and a few laughs, and it's great. But you know what the best part of my day is? For about ten seconds, from when I pull up to the curb and when I get to your door, 'cause I think, maybe I'll get up there and I'll knock on the door and you won't be there. No goodbye. No see you later. No nothing. You just left. I don't know much, but I know that".


------


So thats my list of 10 movies that I would watch for the rest of my life. I know I have left off a lot of classic movies, skipped over a few genres of movies, but as always I stand by my list. And I have said it before and I'll say it again...the great thing about top 10 lists are that no two lists are exactly the same and you can debate them forever. So I would love to hear your feedback and response to my list, as well as to see the 10 movies that other people would go with. I know I have promised a drinking game manifesto and I will promise to you all right now that I will release said Manifesto shortly. It has required MUCH more thought and time than I had planned.


Its great to be back blogging and I can't wait to hear the response that we get from this entry. So until next time, as always.....STAY CLASSY!

Keep on Keep Truckin'

So I drew the audience back in, now I need to follow it up. The theme is to keep on keep truckin' and there's NOTHING like a shout out from you VP of sales to kick start some blog creativity. So as you may or may not know...i teased the audience with my big comeback to the blog-o-sphere.

My once in a generation idea is a Drinking Game Manifesto. We have all played drinking games in our day, but there is no one authority or source to find the best games. Well that's what I'm working on. No matter if your sitting around with some buddies trying to take it easy, or if you want to escalate the party the way Lindsay Lohan escalates an AA meeting....we've got your poison.

Having said that, Manifesto's don't happen over night, just ask Karl Marx. I would be doing myself and my audience a terrible injustice if I rushed this manifesto and did not give it the thought and attention that a drinking game manifesto deserves. So I will be out there, crashing parties, playing drinking games, gathering evidence and formulating my thesis.

But I don't want to publish back to back teaser blogs. Instead I had a realization the other night while watching Baseball Tonight. And it sparked a terrible revelation about sports in 2010. Basically that it will never be as good as it once was. Now call me a cynic or a guy trying to hang on to the glory days but I just don't think its going to be as good as it was. I'm going all Tim Kurkjian here, so I present to you......

Why Modern Sports Suck  

I wanted to make the subtitle of this "why Michael Jordan and Pete Rose would be spinning in their legacies". It seems appropriate for several reasons. Jordan and Rose have tarnished their legacies in the years since they have retired. Both, arguably, were the best at what they did in their respective sports. If they went quietly into the night, their legacies would have been solidified and they would be recognized the way their play deserved to be. Instead they both fell victim to their competitive spirit; Rose with his gambling addiction and Jordan with his Hall of Fame speech (And yes Rose's decision has had a much bigger affect on his legacy, but Jordan's public image has taken a huge hit because of this speech, almost to the point where we forget how much we enjoyed watching Jordan dominate). But it was because of their competitive spirit that they were so great. Sports need athletes like Rose and Jordan because without passionate competition, professional sports because more about entertainment and money than it does about winning. Jordan and Rose simply serve as the backbone for why the competitive spirit is all but gone in the modern sports world. Both Rose and Jordan are where they are now, for good or bad, because they were the most competitive players in their sport. 

The reason I decided to write this is because I saw Nomar Garciaparra and Aaron Boone sharing the television screen on Baseball Tonight and it disgusted me. They were laughing and chumming it up like they were old golfing buddies instead of arch rivals. For those that don't know, Boone and Nomar are forever linked together by one of the most famous home runs in the history of baseball. Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, arguably one of the most memorable postseason games of all time, ended in extra innings when Aaron Boone hit a walkoff home run, sending the Yankees to the World Series and adding another sad chapter to the Red Sox then tortured history. 

I remember everything about that game and that homerun. I know where I was, the explosion of cheers that followed and how angry I still get thinking about it. The second Boone hit it, everyone that was watching knew it was gone. I remember how upset I was as a fan and if I was actually playing for the Red Sox, that moment would stay with me forever. And yet for some reason that homerun and that moment has resonated more with the fans than it SEEMS to have resonated with the players involved. I mean do you think Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams would be standing where Nomar and Boone are now (and I recognize how ridiculous it is to compare DiMaggio and Williams to Nomar and Boone, but they shared the same rivalry, the so called "greatest rivalry in sports")

And i find this whole lack of competitive spirit totally in line with the biggest story line of the summer, Lebron James. Since I took the summer off from blogging I didn't have an opportunity to address this whole situation but it worked out for the better. We had to sit through "The Decision" and witness one person destroy an entire city the likes of which hasn't been seen since Sherman torched the South during the Civil War. But there's nothing that proves my argument more than Lebron throwing in the white towel to team with two other super stars. Even if Lebron wins a title now, what does that prove? That he's a great team player? Michael Jordan should be the happiest guy in basketball because Lebron has removed himself from the greatest of all time debate. He might put up comparable career numbers and might even win the same amount of championships as Mike, but he will never be mentioned as the G.O.A.T 


My point is this just would not have happened back when winning still mattered. Larry Bird would never have signed with the Lakers to play with Magic. They wanted to show that they were better than the other and spent a lifetime trying to prove it. It reminded me of a story I heard in college. One of my roommates' father played in the NFL, Cliff Harris. He played safety for the Dallas Cowboys from 1970-1979 and during that time he played in 6 pro bowls and 5 Super Bowls. The big rivalry at that time was between the Cowboys and the Steelers and one night at dinner we got to hear Cliff tell stories about the rivalry. It was almost 30 years later and you can still see how much he hated Lynn Swan. He even gave an interview on ESPN a few years ago and said "if he saw Swan laying on the ground today he wouldn't help him up". That kind of competitive spirit just doesn't exist in the modern game. Everyone today is friends with each other, they make too much money for it to be life or death, win or lose. 


But there is one competitive story line that still intrigues me. I never thought I would be drawn in by this example but it's all we have left (if anyone has other examples please let me know). I' referring to Kobe and Shaq. 


Shaq is 38 years old, he can't run the length of the floor, he's pushing 400 pounds and he still can't make a foul shot. But he's back for one more season with the Celtics and the reason is simple. With 4 championships,  15 All-Star appearances, 3 Finals MVP awards, 2 scoring titles and the '99-00 MVP, Shaq is still playing for one reason...because he can't let Kobe win more rings than him. Last year Kobe won his 5th championship, 1 upping Shaq and proving, for now, that Kobe is the better player. Shaq really has nothing left to prove in the NBA, he is a sure fire hall of famer and easily one of the most dominant players of all time. But he had something to prove to himself. He just could not retire knowing that Kobe has won championships, so he signed with Boston hoping to make one last run at the championship. (it might also give us a sequal to Shaq's grammy winning rap, would that be something you'd be interested in?)


And you know what? I'm rooting for him. Because a Boston Celtics championship means that they would have had to defeat King Coward Lebron James and the Miami Heat. And maybe this time Shaq can ask Lebron how his ass tastes.