What Dave Loves: Part I (Movies)

Dear Readers,

I am launching my new series "What Dave Loves" which, over the next 2 weeks, will give you an idea of everything I love in the world. I know you don't care but I'm going to do it anyways because I do what I want. To kick it off, I'm going to start with my favorite movies of all time.

Side note:
If you spell it "favourite," I sincerely don't want you to continue
reading. I don't want your eyes polluting my BLOG. Seriously...Stop reading.

I realize there are amazing movies that didn't make my list; I just put together a list of movies I never get tired of watching. It is a tough determination due to the vast genres there are but I'm just going to make one comprehensive list for your reading pleasure.

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10. "O"- Lets kick this list with a movie you have probably never seen. I come to this conclusion based on the many times I get blank looks when I ask a person, "Have you ever seen the movie, 'O'?" The movie is a modern twist on Shakespeare's, Othello, which is set in a high school and centered around basketball player Odin. It is all about jealousy, love, and betrayal-all the workings of a great movie. The ending makes me tear up every time and I highly encourage that you check it out.
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9. "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"- Yet another movie I'm sure you have never heard of or will care to watch after reading this. I first came across this movie in my 12th grade Participation in Government class when the topic of discussion was government corruption. The movie is a Jimmy Stewart classic that follows a freshman, naive man that is appointed to fill a vacancy in the US Senate. He is bullied by a fellow Senator to vote "Yes" on a bill that is corrupt and filled with earmarks that hurt the very land he is from. I believe our country would benefit from a mandatory screening to all elected officials in the Unites States.
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8. "American Beauty"- Ahhh, I remember this was the first movie I watched as a young adult that had nudity (my parents were strict about the movies I watched-haha). Besides the two topless scenes, I must say that there are some extreme elements of reality that make it easy to relate to. For instance, we all know the creepy guy that video tapes everything, we all know the closet homosexual that portrays an image of homophobia, and we all know the school-aged girl who had a crush on a dad. I also have another theory as to why "American Beauty" is great: Anything that is referenced in "Family Guy" must be great (see below).


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7. "Full Metal Jacket"- I absolutely love movies about the military and nothing captures the raw reality of basic training like Full Metal Jacket does. Of course there are a lot of dramatics used to enhance the pleasure of the viewers, but this movie is easily Stanley Kubrick's best. FACT: I once watched this movie 4 times in one weekend because it was played over and over on AMC.
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6. "Fight Club"- In my opinion, this was one of the smartest films ever written. The multiple personalities of Tyler (which you don't realize until the end) that force him to create a gang of Fight Club members that carry out "Project Mayhem" in the most amazing of fashions. Edward Norton, who plays Tyler, successfully found a way to vent male aggression. Who wants to start a fight cub?
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5. "Top Gun"- I have expressed in previous BLOGS about how I cannot stand when people make assumptions that Top Gun has homosexual tendencies. I have compiled a comprehensive analysis of around twelve reasons why it's not-I will not post it on here because it it horrifyingly offensive to at least 2 races, the female gender, and the GLTB community. Off of that topic, Top Gun is an amazing story of friendship and is a non-stop thriller that I can watch over and over again.
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4. "The Godfather Trilogy"- I have added the entire trilogy to this because while I think Part I is the best, followed by Part III, and finally Part II, I have to concede that they all wouldn't be as good if they didn't have the entire trilogy to back it up. My favorite theme of the movie is family; as you know I'm a family man and I can respect the kind loyalty, no matter the level of felonies being committed, that the Corleone family has as they fight their rightful place as the top mafia family.
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3. "Casino"- The top three were the hardest to position because they are the three best movies ever made. If you dare to disagree, I'll strangle you. The first time I saw Casino, admittedly, I hated it. Mind you, I was ten years old and I didn't know what the hell was going on. The next time I watched it, I was a fourteen year old home sick from school and I have been hooked ever since. The plot is simple, a mob oriented man, played by Robert De Niro, is given a casino to manage (without the proper permits) and funnels money back to his bosses. He deals with a drug addicted wife, a best friend who sleeps with said wife, and the gaming commission hammering down on his illegal activities all while maintaining his Robert De Niro bad assness (not a word).
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2. "Saving Private Ryan"- Full Metal Jacket was mentioned earlier, but I have to say that it doesn't even deserve to be on the same list as SPR. Tom Hanks plays his role as a Captain in the Army, tasked out to find Pvt. James Francis Ryan who had all his brothers KIA after the drop into Normandy, like the pro he is. His laid back demeanor is a testament to his troop's loyalty as they follow him into a mission none of them ever wanted to take part in. I need to watch this again, it's been too long.
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1. "The Shawshank Redemption"- This is the one movie I will watch over and over again until my eyes bleed from the lack of sleep and my body decomposes due to lack of nutrition. Where do I even begin? Let me quote IMDb's description: "Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency." This is a perfect representation of what this film is all about. Get past the fact that most of the other men in the prison were guilty of a crime; "acts of common decency" is where it's at. Think about the friendship that Andy and Red developed throughout the movie and think about the friendship you have with your best friend. Yeah, you suck. "Get busy living, or get busy dying."

That wraps up the first edition of "What Dave Loves" so I hope you enjoyed it. If you didn't, then I offer no apologies, instead if you are a Windows user, I offer you the option of clicking the red X at the top right hand corner of your screen, if you are a Mac user, I probably don't like you anyways. But seriously, I probably don't.

Goodnight, Readers