When I was at school, my English teacher always used to tell us to write about what we know.
I suppose this is why I became a journalist in the first place. I have an extensive general knowledge which covers a range of the weirdest topics such as naming most of the capital cities of the world, to knowing who sang 90% of the James Bond Theme songs, to ancient history such as the 10 year battle for Troy or the rise of the Zulu Nation under Shaka Zulu.
I also know a thing or two about writing, I wont say that I was the worst sportsman in the world believe me I was more then adequate, but my true talents were always writing and a bit of singing.
Anyway, we digress. When I began my post about our friend Mel Gibson this morning it was originally going to be a post about some of my favorite movies in some of the catagories I enjoy. but because I am on a crusade to make people look beyond the mask that people portray in music and films, the post turned out how it turned out.
So now, I will discuss a few of my favorite movies of all times in their specific genres.
Historical Epics
I got hooked on this when I was a child watching the miniseries Shaka Zulu. Because there were no real historical epics for a long time I cant recall anything of any significance.
Then Gladiator came along, and I was hooked. Russel Crowe gave a rousing performance as Maximus. whenever I hit a bit of a wobbly in my personal life I watch this show and it sorts my shit out.
And unlike all of my other favorites I cant pinpoint what it is about this movie that draws me in emotionally. Perhaps it is the fact that you really sympathise with the man. He endures all of these hardships and then when he gets the opportunity to stand before his tormentor he gets taunted even further buy him.
Also I feel the performance of Connie Nielsen in this movie was outstanding. She is surrounded by serious Male Hollywood heavyweights and she more then holds her own.
She summed up the whole two and a half hours of the movie with just one statement at the end:
"Is Rome worth one good mans life? He believed it once, make us believe it again. He was a soldier of Rome. Honor him."
Other notable epics include Troy and The Kingdom of Heaven.
Westerns
I love western movies. Besides the Crusades, if I could have been born in a different era, I would want to live in the Wild West.
My favorite here is Wyatt Earp. The long ass one with Kevin Costner. Apart form Gene Hackman, who played his father, there are no stand out Hollywood heavyweights in the movie, but it is close to an accurate portrayal of the Gunfight at O.K. Corral and the Earp Vendetta Ride.
Early on in the movie, Hackman makes a statement which is not only true for the movie but for life in general:
"Remember, nothing counts so much as family, everyone else is just strangers"
The cinematography in the movie was reminiscent of that in Dances with Wolves, which won Costner an Oscar. You get so lost in the expansive scenes that you could loose track of some of the loopholes in the story, but all in all it was a good effort.
Other notable Westerns include: The 2009 version of 3:10 to Yuma, the 1993 version of Tombstone, True Grit, Unforgiven and Open Range.
Comedy
At times I can be a barrel of laughs to be around. So it comes as no surprise that I enjoy a good comedy.
My top favorite has to be Life. It stars Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence as wrongly convicted murderers who get sentences to life in a State Pen in Mississippi.
With this one its just the ridiculous situations that the two find themselves in that make this movie a classic. It reminds me alot of myself and my best friend.
Other notable movies in this category include: Beverly Hills Cop, A Vampire in Brooklyn, and Grown Ups.
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