My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: GoldenEye, 1995

I want to take you back to a time and a place where I did not know much about James Bond. The world was about to get a new 007 in Pierce Brosnan and I had never had one to start with. So, one November night, I went with my mom and brother to see GoldenEye. Then I went back the same weekend with my dad because somehow I saw every Pierce Brosnan Bond film in the theaters more than one time. Seriously.


Now, I know what you want to say. Sean Connery is the greatest Bond ever, right? But there's a difference between the best Bond and my Bond and Pierce Brosnan is undoubtedly my Bond. You see, after Timothy Dalton (a.k.a. Rassilon) took the franchise to the edge of dramatic destruction with his uber-seriousness and total inability to execute a punchline, Brosnan brought the franchise back into the world of humor, though not quite into the world of the ridiculousness that Roger Moore ocassionally took it to. I mean, they were in space, people. There was a laser fight in space. And George Lazenby, I mean what a freaking catastrophe. And I know someone out there is rooting for Daniel Craig, but I can never get over him being blond and also, he's too touchy feely sometimes. To me, Brosnan strikes the right line because this is a new post Cold War era Bond so he can't go around smacking secretaries on the ass, but we still want him to kill people.

But, the first thing you need for a great Bond film, well, after a great James Bond is a great James Bond theme song and this one has one with Tina Turner written by Bono and The Edge. BONO AND THE EDGE. You know, from U2? Did I ever mention I love U2? And it's awesome.


Then, of course, we have the new M played by Dame Judi Dench. And you don't want to screw with the new M.


What else? We have the cars, although Bond controversially drives a BMW Z3. I must say I used to like the Z3. Now, I'm about to sound like a presenter on Top Gear, but every middle aged man having a midlife crisis bought a Z3 and then the Z4, so it's just not cool anymore. Aston Martin, still cool, but they only get like seven miles to the gallon. Well, at least that's done. We have the villain, 006, played by Sean Bean who I knew not to trust. Also, Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp, one of the most bizarre Bond villainesses ever. There's a plot in there, but while you need a decent plot for James Bond, it's more about the getting there, unless the plot is just so stupid you can't ignore how stupid it is. I will say the low point of this film is the main Bond girl, Natalya Simonova, because she does the whole thing where she whines about him going around, killing people, do we really need that? The whining? Joe Don Baker as a slightly crazy CIA agent, Robbie Coltrane as an old adversary of Bond's and oh, yeah, Minnie Driver in the greatest James Bond cameo ever, singing Stand By Your Man with a Russian accent. I seriously get angry when they cut that part out on TV, as if we don't need it. We do! Oh, my favorite sequence in this film is undoubtedly the tank chase through the streets of St. Petersburg. Of course, now would be a good time for either a clip of Minnie Driver or the tank chase, but once again, YouTube says no. Bastards.

And now come after me with your James Bond opinions.

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: The Lion King, 1994

So, The Lion King. I know this must seem in the sequence of films we've had so far, but I love it. I haven't been able to watch it, though, because all the copies have vanished off the face of the Earth in anticipation of a 3D release and a new release on DVD in November, so I have to go off what I remember and what I can find on YouTube. So, Disney corporate, that's my excuse for the clips, okay?

The first thing is the amazing opening sequence that shows you the splendor of the African landscape and creatures. This is a world unto itself and the scene has no dialogue, but for the Circle of Life song, the first in a brilliant soundtrack by Elton John and Tim Rice. Incidentally, I have a distant relative called Abaku who was in The Lion King on Broadway. I'm not sure if that's how you spell it, anyway, distant. The scene is fantastic, it's giving you the entire stakes of the film and mesmerizing you at the same time.


Then of course, we have some joyous, happy time but this is Disney and that can never last. I'm talking about Mufasa's death.

I cried, you cried let's just all admit it. I do not like death scenes, Disney is trying to give me serious psychological scars. Also, does it seem like as king of the animals, Mufasa probably should have just yelled at the wildebeests to stop for a minute while he got his kid? Any future lion kings, just keep that in mind.

Then, what do they do? They give you a warthog and a meerkat singing quite possibly the catchiest tune ever.


At its core, this song exemplifies the challenge Simba is going to face. Is he going to keep on with his carefree lifestyle and stand idly by as Scar rules the kingdom into ruin and decay? Or is he going to defeat the demons of his past, step up and become the Lion King? I think I just seriously over analyzed that.


And we have another lion king. And I cry. Again. Freaking Circle of Life, making me cry. Let's see what the Tenth Doctor has to say about it.


What else? Seriously, Rowan Atkinson plays a bird. You've got great performances, an epic story. One of my favorites, comments, concerns, that's what the comments section is for.

My Life in Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: The Fugitive, 1993

For 1993, I have selected one of the truly greatest thrillers of all time. I feel like I say that a lot, but in this case it is definitely true. Rationally, a film based on an old TV show shouldn't be this good, but it is.

The Fugitive is the story of Richard Kimble, an escaped fugitive, jailed for the murder of his wife, which he didn't commit. It's equally the story of U.S. Marshal, Deputy Sam Gerard, played by Tommy Lee Jones, who won an Oscar for this performance and is also a fellow San Antonio Spurs fan. You may not feel like you needed to know that, but I dare you to find a Lakers fan who would have done a better job. The supporting cast is rounded out by Sela Ward, Samuel L. Jackson's wife, G'Kar from Babylon 5, Ralph Cifaretto and Sue Sylvester.


Anyway, this movie is all about the chase and I've always found the dynamic interesting because while Kimble is clever and heroic, Gerard definitely gets the best lines in the film. Even though he's chasing our hero, he's not a baddie, he's just a man with a job to do. The difference between a man on a mission and a man with a job to do is at the crux of the argument of the film, as exemplified in this scene following a great chase sequence through a dam.


The film also makes excellent use of the city of Chicago. You really feel like Kimble's lost in it and it adds a lot of atmosphere to what otherwise might take place in any city. The chase in the subway, the cop atmosphere, the scene in the prison. Note the excellent St. Patrick's Day parade sequence, a last minute addition to the shoot.


It's about as perfect a film as you can get, all about the cat and mouse game being played by Kimble and Gerard. They're opposing forces headed towards each other and you just wonder how it's all going to turn out. It is one perfect chase after another and what's great is you don't feel like it's just another chase sequence and there's a story, not just running. Great action and great characters and a great story. And again, Sam Gerard has the best lines ever. Basically, everything he says during the course of the film.

I know I picked The Fugitive, but I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't show you Charlton Heston in Wayne's World 2.


Comments on The Fugitive, your favorite Sam Gerard lines? Well, that would be what the comments section is for.

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes:1992 Got Complicated: Patriot Games & Wayne's World

So, there has been a delay for which I apologize. You see, the year 1992 happened and it has been the most difficult year thus far. This year contains four personal favorites: Patriot Games, Wayne's World, The Last of the Mohicans and The Bodyguard, which I am a little ashamed to admit to. Okay, so that one was out. Then I pared away The Last of the Mohicans. Then I was still left with Patriot Games and Wayne's World.


So, Patriot Games is once again the story of Jack Ryan, this time played by Harrison Ford. He's on vacation in London when he thwarts an assassination attempt on the life of a member of the royal family led by Sean Bean and Polly Walker, more commonly known as Atia of the Julii from Rome. Other people miss Rome, right? It's not just me? Anyway, Harrison kills Sean's brother in the process and Sean decides to take revenge following him back to America.

Here is in my mind one of the greatest scenes in Patriot Games as Jack Ryan watches the operation he instigated carried out via satellite. Sorry about the quality.


I mean, this is the movie where I learned not to trust Sean Bean and so far that's paid off. In GoldenEye, in Lord of the Rings, I hear on Game of Thrones he may not be evil, but he's dead or something? I don't have HBO right now. It also features the stellar supporting cast with James Earl Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Anne Archer and Richard Harris. Also, the final sequence is just great and tense and everything. It is everything an action film and a thriller should be.

Wayne's World is of course, the film based on the long running SNL sketch with Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, where they play Wayne and Garth and pursue their dream of getting to host their cable access show for money. It of course features the iconic scene featuring Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody:


I mean, how can you not be happy after that? I love everything about this movie, the way Wayne and Garth talk to the camera, Tia Carrere's cover of Ballroom Blitz, Ed O'Neill's crazy doughnut store manager, the way Wayne and Garth react when they meet Alice Cooper, Alice Cooper lecturing on the history of Milwaukee...


The three endings. The way the guy in the guitar shop tells Wayne "No Stairway." Robe Lowe's entire part. It's a film that doesn't fire for any particular reason, but manages to fire on all cylinders, it doesn't really have a dull part in it.

So, here we are, 1992 and I can't pick a film. So, Patriot Games or Wayne's World? Your opinions, please.

Again, am I the only one who misses Rome and especially Atia?

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: Delirious, 1991

I had a couple of options for 1991, but this is what I ended up with. This blog entry is about a film that I don't think you've probably heard of, but has had a profound effect on me. I remember seeing it and considering for the first time that writing TV was perhaps something that would be interesting to do.

The film stars the late and great John Candy as a soap opera writer, Jack Gable. He is hopelessly in love with the soap's star played by Emma Samms, a hopelessly bad soap actor, played by David Rasche, Raymond Burr as the soap opera family patriarch, the also late and great Jerry Orbach as the soap's producer, Renee Taylor (also known as The Nanny's mom), Andrea Thompson (also known as Talia Winters from Babylon 5, nerd alert) as a nurse, Dylan Baker and Charles Rocket as the patriarch's sons and Mariel Hemingway as an aspiring actress/new girl in town on the soap opera.

The film begins quite brilliantly in my opinion following Jack's cable guy around town as Jack furiously waits for his appointment. We follow him to work and learn of his crush on Rachel/Laura and the struggles he has with his producers on keeping his vision of the show. They've brought in another writer behind his back Arnie Federman to rewrite what he's done. Rachel/Laura quickly invites herself along to a weekend with Jack and then spurns him. He is then hit by a trunk loading her luggage into his car and knocked out. He wakes up in Ashford Falls, the town his soap opera is set in. He finds that all the characters are in tact, much to his chagrin. "He's operating on people? He's an actor! Not even a good one!" Even more intriguingly that whatever he writes on his typewriter comes true, which gives him unreasonable power. (Do you see how this film makes TV writing look like a good idea?) He decides to play the hero and tries to win over Rachel/Laura, all the while fighting Federman's rewrites and oh, yeah, Robert Wagner shows up. He has ridiculous scenes where he rescues Rachel on horseback and buys back his own Ferrari GTO 250 at an auction, as well as a climactic and hilarious party scene where he plays piano, dances with Rachel/Laura and his typos come back to haunt him. All the while though, he finds himself torn as he falls in love with Mariel Hemingway's character, Janet.

There are also a lot of nice touches in this film like the transvestite auto mechanic, one of the brother's incestuous lust for Rachel and Raymond Burr is hilarious in this, his last film performance. He gives every line the greatest level of soap opera gravitas, even as he waits for the cable guy, "I'll tell you how I am! I have black bars on two! And seven!" Overall, I think this film is a hidden gem and maybe isn't the best, but I love it.

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: The Hunt for Red October, 1990

This is seriously one of my favorite movies. I love it, I feel compelled to watch it in its entirety whenever it pops up on TV. I have tried to learn the Soviet National Anthem because of it and I have only made it through the first few lines. Probably something about not speaking Russian, not reading the Cyrillic alphabet and not being able to find a phonetic translation of it anywhere. The loss of the DVD to this film results in panic on my part and eventually led to my buying it on Amazon, where I wouldn't lose it. It is in my opinion the greatest submarine film ever made.

The film is directed by John McTiernan and is a taut thriller about a Soviet naval captain, Marko Ramius, played by Sean Connery who decides to defect with a new submarine that can run almost silently. Trouble is, the whole of the soviet and American navies and the North Atlantic are between him and his goal. The only man who's worked this out is Jack Ryan, played in this film by Alec Baldwin, who does a really good job with this. While I love Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan, I can't picture anyone but Baldwin in this film. The cast is rounded out with the greatest group of actors. Sam Neill is Ramius' first officer, Tim Curry is the Soviet physician who is hopelessly befuddled by the events of the film. On the American side, we have James Earl Jones as Ryan's CIA boss. Scott Glenn plays Bart Mancuso, the captain of the submarine that finds the Red October and Courtney B. Vance is great as his eccentric, but skilled Sonar technician. In there you also have Fred Thompson, Stellan Skarsgard and Gates McFadden (Doctor Crusher) as Ryan's wife. It is so cool.

Everything about this movie is great. The actors. The intertwining of Ryan and Ramius' stories as the plot heightens. The tension that still exists every time I watch it even though I clearly know what's going to happen. The music is great, heavily influenced by Soviet music. They manage to keep the look of the film dynamic even though about eighty percent of it takes place inside a boat. And they do something different with the language issue. Usually when you watch a movie like this, what you get is one cast speaking with Russian accents (I'm looking at you K-19). In this film, we start out with the actors speaking Russian and through the use of a character reading a passage from a book, they switch to English. When the Soviets meet up with the Americans, they speak Russian again. It's brilliant. I also love the way that no scene is one dimensional and usually have some layer of humor with them. I particularly love the scenes in the White House with the Soviet ambassador as they play a chess game of diplomacy.

Part of the brilliance of this film is in keeping the audience out of the loop on the conclusion and not telling us anything, letting us go along for the ride. apparently, studios had a hard time imagining the original Tom Clancy novel as a film, they thought it would be too complicated for audiences to figure out. Luckily, somebody at Paramount understood its potential. I also love the authenticity of the film, with real naval officers playing small parts and even Scott Glenn spent some time on a submarine learning how to command from a real naval captain. Also, I love the way this film isn't just a thriller, it involves you emotionally in the characters. The finale of this film is always such an intense ride for me, taking you from moments of humor to tears, all the while maintaining the intensity you need to deliver an ending that's worthy of the rest of this film.

Okay, comments, what is the greatest submarine film of all time if not this one? And did that film have its own video game? Also, does it seem short-sighted of the Soviets to have given James Bond his own submarine?

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: Steel Magnolias, 1989

I think this is one of those movies that's required viewing in the south, like Gone With The Wind. It even has a first half hour that most men will sit quietly through because Tom Skerritt is trying to get birds out of the trees for his daughter's reception utilizing firearms and fireworks. Also, there's a groom's cake in the shape of an armadillo made out of red velvet. It is hilarious.

But this movie is about the women. There's Shirley MacLaine as Ouiser.("I'm not crazy, I've just been in a very bad mood for forty years!") Olympia Dukakis as Clairee (Well, you know what they say: if you don't have anything nice to say about anybody, come sit by me!) Dolly Parton as the hair salon owner, Truvy ("There is no such thing as natural beauty."). Sally Field as M'Lynn Eatonton, Shelby's mother. ("Oh how pretentious is this wedding going to get I ask you? That sanctuary looks like it's been hosed down with Pepto Bismol!") Daryl Hannah, looking for most of the film as mousy as Darryl Hannah gets, which is not much, as Annelle ("Miss Truvy, I promise that my personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair.) Finally, Julia Roberts as Shelby, the bride in our wedding, M'Lynn's daughter ("My colors are blush and bashful.") Best of all, Julia Roberts isn't even annoying in this movie. She does the laughing thing once, but I don't think she can help that.

We spend about a third of the film in the business leading up to the wedding and most of that, like the rest of the film, takes place in Truvy's beauty parlor. In this first part, we learn about Shelby's health problems and that she may never be able to have children. The next Christmas we learn that she is pregnant, to M'Lynn's dismay given the health concerns. The story picks up again later as M'Lynn is about to give Shelby a kidney and later to Shelby's death. We also follow the course of Truvy's relationship with her husband and Annelle's born again Christian-ness. All of the women in this movie are genuinely hilarious except Julia Roberts because it's hard to be funny while you're dying. Although, it is good to be funny at a funeral. Also, this movie is seriously quotable, I had a hard time picking out just those and I would just post the whole movie from YouTube if I could, but let's stick with this scene which illustrates the deftness with which this movie goes from tears to laughter.



I'll admit it, I am a sucker for this movie. I've watched it more times than I can count and I still cried when I watched it today. Truly, Sally Field will break your heart in this movie and you will be going over the dialogue in your head for days. Not to mention that thing with the groom's cake will just stay with you forever. I do love it, please begin your ridicule in the comments section. Or please share anything you love about this film. Go!

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: Working Girl, 1988

You know, some of these years are much harder to do than others. Apparently in 1988, there was Big, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Coming to America and the film that I've selected. It was difficult. Anyway, this movie stars Melanie Griffith and may surprise you in that it doesn't suck. I think the problem is that Melanie Griffith has been trying to play this same role every other time in her career and it doesn't work. Case in point: Shining Through. Take her character in this movie add Nazis and you've got Shining Through. Speaking of which, why is Liam Neeson a Nazi in that movie? I know that Schindler's List was after that, so they couldn't have seen it coming but it's still disturbing. I just don't want to see Liam Neeson as a Nazi, I watched that whole movie bothered that I still liked him.

Okay, on to the task at hand. Working Girl, directed by Mike Nichols, is the story of Tess McGill, a working class girl from Long Island with aspirations in finance. She finds these ambitions to be stifled by the lack of an Ivy League/blue blood pedigree. She feels like her life is turning around when she becomes the secretary to Katherine Parker. I love this part of the film because it plays on knowing someone who you hate/want to be. Tess brings her an idea for a deal and Katherine promises to use it to help her. Then Katherine gets in a ski accident and things change. Tess finds out Katherine intended to steal her idea, so Tess decides to take matters into her own hands and sets up a meeting with Jack Traynor played by Harrison Ford. Before that, she has an unfortunate incident with prescription meds and Tequila, which makes the business part of this awkward. So, Tess starts moving in business circles and pursuing a relationship with Jack, because you know, he's Harrison Ford before he started dating Calista Flockhart. Oh, also, Katherine thinks she's pretty much engaged to Jack. There are issues, which all come together nicely upon Katherine's return where Tess is able to show her for the fraud she is. The important part is really the ride along the way as Tess struggles with her identity: that of a secretary or a serious business lady. That theme is summed up in this one clip from Tess' best friend.

Okay, the best parts of this movie: the stellar cast, containing basically everyone. You've got Joan Cusack as Tess' best friend, Alec Baldwin as her boyfriend, an Irish guy from Long Island (Hey, wait a minute...), Olympia Dukakis, Oliver Platt and even Kevin Spacey in a memorable appearance. I love the way it captures the divide between blue and white collar, evidenced through the fantastic cityscape of Manhattan in the film, giving you the full gusto of New York in the 1980s. You know, at least h Also, there's a Carly Simon song in this film, evoked throughout the score. Another win. Carly Simon should write more songs in movies that we can sing driving to work.

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: No Way Out, 1987

Remember what I said before about Harrison Ford tarnishing his legacy with crap? Same thing, Kevin Costner. I'm talking about Waterworld. The Postman. Whatever else there is that I'm forgetting. What about that one where Paul Newman plays his dad? The one based on the Nicholas Sparks book? Here's a spoiler, every Nicholas Sparks story has the same ending: SOMEONE DIES. That may not be entirely accurate, but I think it is and that should be good enough for the Internet, right?

Anyway, let's examine the fact that Kevin Costner had two excellent films come out this year. This one and The Untouchables, the film for which Sean Connery won as Oscar. I just felt like mentioning that.

Anyway, this film features Kevin Costner as a Naval officer who falls for the Secretary of Defense's mistress played by Sean Young. Gene Hackman plays the Secretary and there's a part with Iman and Fred Thompson. What more do you people want from this movie?



I love a good thriller which I suspect you might learn as this list goes on and even more than that, this is a great Cold War thriller and nothing can really beat that. Okay, there is that one scene in the limo that I'm not entirely comfortable with. I mean, how awkward is that for the driver? Anyway, this is about what happens when you work at the Pentagon, have an affair with your boss' mistress and she dies. Long story short: it's BAD.

Okay, so, now there's a spoiler that I would actually feel bad about spoiling, which is so rare for me, so if you haven't seen No Way Out, please stop reading and go do that. They throw so many red herrings at you in this movie that this becomes the best twist ending ever. So, I would go on and on about that, but I can't so...

Talking points: great Cold War thrillers, why all movies should feature Iman and Fred Thompson, limo etiquette? I'm really tired, people.

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: Witness, 1985

Let's think back to a time (1985) and a place (America, I guess) where there was no fourth Indiana Jones movie and the legacy of Harrison Ford's career wasn't dragged down by crap like Random Hearts and whatever one he made with Anne Heche while she was still with Ellen. This is a time when Harrison Ford is successful from films like Raiders of the Lost Ark (my favorite ever, but it came out the year before I was born, what are you gonna do?) and Star Wars, once again, before crap sequels/prequels were made. He's just starting to delve into deeper work and that work is Witness. By the way, this is already the second Harrison Ford movie on this list and I think it could be as high as five.



This is the film where Kelly McGillis plays an Amish woman. This was before she taught at Top Gun, so I guess that makes sense. Anyway, she's the mother of a young boy and they're on their way to visit relatives when her son witnesses a murder. Harrison Ford plays John Book, the cop who's investigating that murder. There's immediate tension between the Amish and non-Amish characters in the film. Book asks Samuel to identify the killer by looking at a bunch of pictures, but then the killer is in a newspaper at the police station because he's a cop (Oh, yeah, it's Danny Glover. That's not really a spoiler, it happens in like the first fifteen minutes anyway. Also, I don't really care if you think it's a spoiler.) So, next Book discovers that his police captain is in on it and takes Kelly McGillis and the kid back to Amish country, after an attempt on his life. There, he recovers and stays in hiding as an Amish guy, making this even more fraught with tension between the Amish and the English, which is apparently what the Amish call the non-Amish.

And here's one of my favorite scenes, though it is so atypical of the film. Cute, but not too cute, and I always watch wondering when the other shoe is going to drop.



So, overall summation, this is such an incredible movie because it is so sparing and so subtle. Director Peter Weir doesn't waste a moment but doesn't overdo anything, either. The love story between Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis, albeit inevitable, is told in a very mature way, not sensational and the film doesn't resort to any cheap tricks. The thriller part of this movie is in there, but what's most important are the characters.

So, opinions on Witness or my spoiler policies? Let loose in the comments section.

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: Well, 1986 Is Complicated

Do you know how sometimes you rewatch a film and discover in it new aspects and layers that you never noticed before that make viewing it an altogether richer experience? Okay, have you ever had the opposite happen?



That was the case with my pick of 1986, An American Tail. Remember Fievel? Do you remember it being awesome and you felt bad for that poor immigrant mouse who was lost from his family and sang "Somewhere Out There?"

Okay, Fievel Mousekewitz is a Jewish mouse from Russia whose family decides to go to America after a bunch of Cossack cats ruin Hanukkah. I'm not even kidding. So, I started getting confused here. Is it like Art Spiegelman's Maus? Were all mice Jewish? Then they get on the boat with a bunch of other mice, one who seemed Catholic. Okay, then Fievel goes to the Statue of Liberty where he's rescued by a pigeon who sounds like Maurice Chevalier. Then he meets an Italian mouse who falls in love with a mouse with the worst Irish accent ever. Then they meet Gussie Mausheimer who is some sort of German mouse that I start worrying is going to turn on Fievel when some sort of Mouse Fascist movement starts. Then this movie really starts to fall apart when I no longer buy that a cat could disguise himself as a rat. And it's over. A little part of my inner child has died. Let's sing for it.



So, my new favorite movie of 1986 is Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which is awesome, but I made you read all of that, so let me get this in quick for you. Star Trek IV is great -if for no other reason- for this moment.

4th of July Special: Your Top 5 American Movie Presidents

So, it's 4th of July weekend. For most of the nation, this means time spent outside, with fireworks and grilling. However, let's suppose that there's a fireworks ban where you live, it's over a hundred degrees out so you risk heatstroke if you stay out more than fifteen minutes and your history of chronic migraines makes it impossible to enjoy the outdoors what with the blinding sunlight and the general lack of musical taste in your neighborhood. So, what do you do? You go inside where you can control the temperature and the light source and enjoy this marathon of great American movie presidents in film. So, in no particular order...

The American President, President Andrew Shepard played by Michael Douglas

With a brilliant script by Aaron Sorkin, this film is the precursor to The West Wing (because we're talking movies, not TV, that's a whole other can of worms, people). It's the same great mixture of gravitas and humor that made that series such a success, along with the necessary Capra-esque elements.



Seriously, can't explain it. Go watch this movie, I love it.

Dave, President Bill Mitchell/Dave Kovic played by Kevin Kline


In this film, Kevin Kline, plays the dual roles of President and guy who looks like the President with a stellar supporting cast in this take on the Prince and the Pauper. Ordinary guy Dave is called upon to replace the President when the real one has a stroke. There are so many great parts in this movie, especially Sigourney Weaver as an embittered First Lady and the great part when Dave tries to cut the federal budget. Why can't real presidents be more like that?



Head of State, President Mays Gilliam played by Chris Rock

This is one of those movies that just fires on all cylinders. This script is so dense, writer/director/star Chris Rock leaves no opportunity for comedy wasted, but he never leaves behind the truth that is the hallmark of his stand up work. Once again, we have another brilliant supporting class including the late great Bernie Mac, Lynn Whitfield and a recurring odd Tracy Morgan.



Also, Mays' presidential opponent is genuinely funny. Not to mention Stephanie March as a new breed of super whore meant to quash political scandals. You will be quoting this film for days. Seriously, go watch it now.

American Dreamz, President Joseph Staton played by Dennis Quaid

This is a film you probably haven't seen, so I feel it's worth mentioning. I had a huge disappointment earlier this year when I rented The Special Relationship just to find out Dennis Quaid was playing Bill Clinton and not George Bush. What the hell? Michael Sheen was still playing Tony Blair, why wasn't Dennis Quaid playing Bush? Anyway, this film has a lot of things to enjoy, a terrorist in training who loves show tunes, Mandy Moore as a narcissistic singer who will stop at nothing for fame, Hugh Grant as pretty much Simon Cowell, but chief among these is Quaid as a Dubya-like president who is struggling through an existential crisis.



Independence Day, President Thomas J. Whitmore played by Bill Pullman


I think you know what I am going to say. So, here is my case for this film:



And don't forget to check out the alternate Master Pancake version of that speech here! Bill Pullman's Alternate Speech

Happy Independence Day! Since we are celebrating the birth of the nation, please feel free to use your First Amendment rights to make a comment and tell me where I screwed up.