With the baseball playoffs going on right now (sorry Red Sox fans), and the start of the NFL season, it's time to review the differences between Baseball and Football. Nobody does that better than George Carlin, who is one of the funniest men that ever lived.
Here's one of my favorite Carlin bits of all time. This is one of the few bits that Carlin did that has clean language. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Top 5 Non-Super Hero Movie Heroes
Whenever we think of heroes, we think of soldiers, firefighters, policemen, our fathers and grandfathers and sports stars. When we think of movie heroes, my brain always goes to Super Heroes. But, there is a whole other realm of movie heroes. So, I got to thinking, who are my top 5 favorite movie heroes that are not super heroes?
I decided I had to set some ground rules, because otherwise there would be too many to choose from. So, first off, I decided that the hero had to be in more than one movie (i.e. he or she had to be compelling enough to make more than one movie). Secondly, he or she cannot have any supernatural abilities whatsoever, so Jedi are out. Finally, he has to be a fictional character, not based on any historical person.
Note that I'm 33 years old and I really don't watch too many movies from before I was born, so I suspect there are people out there who will think of heroes from the early 70's and earlier that I missed. So, here are my top 5 non-super hero heroes:
5 - Aragorn: Viggo Mortensen perfectly played the Ranger turned King in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. I've had a hard time accepting Viggo in any other role because he was so good as Aragorn, and so darn heroic. Plus, he got the girl at the end, and the hero always gets the girl.
4 - Rocky Balboa: Ok, let's forget that "Rocky V" was ever made. If we look at the other 5 movies, Rocky Balboa is the quintessential American hero. A hard luck guy who overcomes a lot, gets the girl, wins big, falls from grace, finally becomes comfortable in his own skin and returns to glory. One of the best movie heroes out there.
3 - James Bond: Many people would put 007 as the #1 guy on this list, especially because he has stood the test of time. From Sean Connery in the 1960's to Daniel Craig in the last few years, James Bond has fascinated movie viewers for nearly 50 years. My favorite Bond was actually Pierce Brosnan, but I understand the people who love Connery. Overall, a great hero who seemingly can do anything.
2 - Indiana Jones: Harrison Ford's classic archaeologist, explorer, hero is one of the greatest heroes of all time. I would have put him #1 on this list had Steven Spielberg and George Lucas not decided to make "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Indie is always funny, always saves the day, and generally does it with a flair and brilliance not seen in other heroes. Indie gets out of every jam and always makes the right decisions in the end. Hard to top this one, but...
1 - John McClane: Detective John McClane just can't seem to get a break. First he goes to Los Angeles, only to have to save his wife from a sadistic Alan Rickman. Next, he has to save an entire airport. Then, without much help from Samuel L. Jackson, McClane has to save the entire city of New York. Finally, in "Live Free or Die Hard", Detective McClane is pitted against a cyber terrorist bent on taking down the United States, while making a lot of money and threatening to kill McClane's daughter. As we learn in the latest "Die Hard" flick, sometimes you gotta be the guy because there's nobody else to be the guy. That is what makes Bruce Willis as John McClane the #1 hero on this list.
I decided I had to set some ground rules, because otherwise there would be too many to choose from. So, first off, I decided that the hero had to be in more than one movie (i.e. he or she had to be compelling enough to make more than one movie). Secondly, he or she cannot have any supernatural abilities whatsoever, so Jedi are out. Finally, he has to be a fictional character, not based on any historical person.
Note that I'm 33 years old and I really don't watch too many movies from before I was born, so I suspect there are people out there who will think of heroes from the early 70's and earlier that I missed. So, here are my top 5 non-super hero heroes:
5 - Aragorn: Viggo Mortensen perfectly played the Ranger turned King in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. I've had a hard time accepting Viggo in any other role because he was so good as Aragorn, and so darn heroic. Plus, he got the girl at the end, and the hero always gets the girl.
4 - Rocky Balboa: Ok, let's forget that "Rocky V" was ever made. If we look at the other 5 movies, Rocky Balboa is the quintessential American hero. A hard luck guy who overcomes a lot, gets the girl, wins big, falls from grace, finally becomes comfortable in his own skin and returns to glory. One of the best movie heroes out there.
3 - James Bond: Many people would put 007 as the #1 guy on this list, especially because he has stood the test of time. From Sean Connery in the 1960's to Daniel Craig in the last few years, James Bond has fascinated movie viewers for nearly 50 years. My favorite Bond was actually Pierce Brosnan, but I understand the people who love Connery. Overall, a great hero who seemingly can do anything.
2 - Indiana Jones: Harrison Ford's classic archaeologist, explorer, hero is one of the greatest heroes of all time. I would have put him #1 on this list had Steven Spielberg and George Lucas not decided to make "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Indie is always funny, always saves the day, and generally does it with a flair and brilliance not seen in other heroes. Indie gets out of every jam and always makes the right decisions in the end. Hard to top this one, but...
1 - John McClane: Detective John McClane just can't seem to get a break. First he goes to Los Angeles, only to have to save his wife from a sadistic Alan Rickman. Next, he has to save an entire airport. Then, without much help from Samuel L. Jackson, McClane has to save the entire city of New York. Finally, in "Live Free or Die Hard", Detective McClane is pitted against a cyber terrorist bent on taking down the United States, while making a lot of money and threatening to kill McClane's daughter. As we learn in the latest "Die Hard" flick, sometimes you gotta be the guy because there's nobody else to be the guy. That is what makes Bruce Willis as John McClane the #1 hero on this list.
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