Twisted Musings

Okay I decided to take a stab at picking my 10 favorite flicks. I know it’s kind of an exercise in futility because anyone that knows me will tell you I am a movieholic, but just for fun, I’ll give it a shot.

I am approaching this as what 10 movies would I love to have with me if I was stranded on a desert island. In other words, which ones would I have no problem watching over and over? Ms. K’s don’t even get started on the fact that it’s a desert island and I would probably be using the discs for Frisbees! It’s an exercise!

These are not in any particular order and I am not even going to add a number next to them.

The Departed – fantastic Boston mob movie with an all star cast. Leonardo DiCaprio (all grown up), Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Jack Nicholson (the boss), Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Ray Winstone playing the creepy Mr. French. This movie keeps you on the edge of the seat waiting to see if the two moles are going to get caught. Not going to tell you much, but Leonardo plays a cop, who is undercover in the mob, and Matt Damon plays a cop, who is secretly working for the mob. Jack Nicholson is his usual creepy self pitting everyone against everyone else.  Very tense…very awesome.

Christmas Vacation – I can watch it when it’s snowing outside, and I can watch it in July at the beach. Chevy Chase plays his recurring character Clark Griswold to perfection. It’s tough enough for him when both sets of parents show up, but then Cousin Eddie and his family arrive in their tenement on wheels! You know its going to be madcap holiday mayhem at its finest.

Tombstone –  telling of Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) and the gunfight at the OK Corral. Val Kilmer play’s Doc Holiday to perfection. Every time you see him you will think “I’m your huckleberry”. You don’t even have to be a fan of westerns to love this one.

Untouchables -  one of three Good Kevin Costner movies! That’s a story in itself that I will talk about sometime. He plays Elliot Ness and Robert De Niro plays Al Capone. Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, and Charles Martin Smith do a great job of playing Elliot’s agents. Very good crime drama.

Gladiator – Russel Crowe plays Maximus a Roman General. He is betrayed by Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix)  and is left for dead. He is captured by Proximo (Oliver Reed) and is turned into a gladiator, who has to fight for his life in front of screaming crowds. Eventually he ends up in Rome for a final showdown. Oliver Reed died during the filming of this movie and had to have final shots filmed by a stand in, wearing a mask and standing in shadows.

Walk The Line – The life of Johnny Cash  played by Joaquin Phoenix. Reese Witherspoon plays June Carter. Both learned to perform for this movie and were outstanding, though Reese supposedly said she would never do that again. Best Line: “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.” Sam Phillips convincing Johnny Cash he should sing something besides Gospel. Glad he listened to him!

A History of Violence – if you’re a fan of Viggo Mortensen you gotta see it. If you’re not a fan..you gotta see it! Viggo plays Tom Stall who through violence becomes an unlikely hero in his community but it has unforeseen consequences. William Hurt and Ed Harris have great roles in this movie.

Heat – Al Pacino and Robert De Niro have only played in the same movie a few times but this is a classic. Robert  De Niro is head of a robbing crew in LA and Al Pacino is the cop trying to catch him. Good and bad get blurred in this one. It’s a bit unsettling but I can watch it time after time.

Road House – One of the cheesiest movies of all time! But I love it. Patrick Swayze plays a cooler in a redneck bar that the owner wants to turn into nice place. Great soundtrack to with the bar band played by the late great Jeff Healey. I actually wish they had made a sequel!

Napoleon Dynamite – this movie is practically unexplainable. Jon Heder plays Napoleon, the dorkiest kid in a school where even the coolest ones are geeks!  Throw in his computer nerd brother Kip and his Uncle Rico and you have a recipe for madness! It has one of the longest cast credit lists in history, as the entire high school was listed as cast. Efren Ramirez  (Pedro ) and Hayley Duff ( Summer Wheatley) dueling it out for class president makes for great comedy, especially with the scales being tipped by Napoleon. It’s very weird so you gotta give it a chance.

Well that’s it for now! This list may change soon because I am sure someone will remind me of one I have left off.  Stay tuned!