CINDERELLA MAN & THE GREAT RAID
2005 MOVIES OF THE YEAR

Yeah, quite the shocker huh?  Man 2005 was an awesome year for movies...some really killer ones came out but I had to choose these.  Why?  Because I know they will both be COMPLETELY snubbed by the Oscars when they deserve them more than anything else I watched.  Instead, we'll get to see everyone's favorite gay cowboy movie "Brokeback Mountain" win all the awards.  See, I think the truly great movies make you think...and the only thing I would ever think after watching "Brokeback Mountain" is "jeez that was friggin disgusting"....not like I'll ever watch it anyway.  Oh, so now I'm a homophobe?  I love that term...you know why?  It implies that someone is afraid of gay people.  Like a gay guy is on the street and I would shriek in terror while running away from the boogeyman...hahahaha.  Ok, back to the reason for the award.  First off, I hesitated on watching "Cinderella Man" because I think Russell Crowe is quite a jerk in real life...but he is a damn good actor.  If you don't know the story behind this, it's based on the life of James Braddock who was a boxer during the 1920's and 30's.  He was on the rise to fame and fortune and a title shot, but a couple of things happened to him that derailed those dreams.  Years later, he gets picked up for a fight at the last second and the rest is history.  After I watched the movie, I did some research on James Braddock to find out if he was embellished at all in the move...and it looks like he wasn't...this guy was actually the awesome dude you see portrayed in the film.  You know what amazes me?  It's that the story of a guy who fights for what's right and to keep his family together can be such a powerful film...almost as if it's the exception and not the rule and I know that's not the case.  Previous generations understood the meaning of hard work and sacrifice unlike the babies running around today who feel they are entitled to a life on easy street.  Braddock was part of the greatest generation, as they have been labeled.  He went through the great depression and served in World War II, and did it all because that's just what needed to be done.  And today we have people screaming and crying when gas hits $3 a gallon for a couple of weeks because they are being slightly inconvenienced...unreal.  Serious, if you want to ever watch a movie where the story is the epitome of struggle, sacrifice, and family then you really need to check this one out.  And to think a guy actually did all this is mind-blowing.  It's just one of those movies where you walk away thinking that standing up for what's right and good can pay off eventually if you'll weather the storms.  And if after watching it, it doesn't have you analyzing what you're doing with your life and how much you're willing to sacrifice to do the right thing, well...I feel bad for you.

Now originally that was going to be my movie of the year, but I watched "The Great Raid" for the second time last week once it came out on DVD and was as blown away this time as I was the first time I saw it in the theater.  It just amazed me how during this time with the idiots screaming we shouldn't be in Iraq and all the anti-war crap we're subjected to each day on the news, that a movie like this would come out that shows the true spirit of the American soldier.  Again, this is a true story like "Cinderella Man" which makes it completely compelling.  Why?  Because it's the story of people fighting for what's right...regardless of how ugly the fight may be.  The premise is there is a Japanese prisoner of war camp that needs to be liberated, because as World War II started drawing to a close and Americans kept advancing in the Pacific, the Japanese would slaughter the POW's they had which is shown in the film's first few minutes.  Huh, maybe John McCain should watch that and then rethink his stand on American soldiers torturing terrorists.  Anyway, a group of American soldiers are sent on a mission to liberate a POW camp before the main Allied force gets too close and the Japanese slaughter the prisoners.  This movie is a true testament to the heart of American soldiers...it really is.  There isn't any political "message" or any of that crap...just soldiers trying to do the right thing.  I swear, sometimes I think I was born a few decades too late sometimes because people back then understood good and bad, right and wrong, and recognized there was evil in the world that couldn't be reasoned with or shown compassion to thinking they would change their minds.  I know a lot of people "get it" today, but I just wish the news and everything would portray it as such.  Ok, rant for another time...hahahahaha.  To finish this bit, I'm a self-proclaimed war movie aficionado, and out of all the ones I've seen over the years this ranks right up there near the top.  It doesn't show gore that "Saving Private Ryan" did, it's the story that is so compelling, one that I sat there after it was over thinking "these guys were willing to pay the ultimate price for people they didn't even know" and being baffled by how soft I am, and how many others have become soft with all of our modern day conveniences.
 
 

When I look at Hollywood actors today, I basically see a lot of wimps.  See, I'm a fan of the old school stuff, guys like Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood.  I'm sick of the modern day leading man like Ben Affleck who took a page out of Alan Alda's "How to be a wuss in Hollywood" handbook.  I'll never forget the first time I saw "Die Hard" and was thinking "oh this should be good for a laugh" thinking the dude from "Moonlighting" could never actually pull off a tough-guy role...but he did...and beyond belief.  Even this past year in "Sin City" his character of Hartigan was quite awesome...the cop going against the system and wanting to do the right thing...it rocked!  If it's a movie involving guns and Bruce Willis is starring in it, then there's a pretty good chance it's going to be worth watching.  But enough on his past credentials, you may be wondering what he did specifically this year to earn such a coveted award?  Bruce Willis is one of the few in Hollywood with any backbone to him, and it was proven again this year when he said he wants to start working on a movie about the war in Iraq.  He said in an interview that his band (which is actually pretty good...like a bluesier version of CCR) has played over there for the troops a few times, and he can't believe the crap the news here is reporting about what's going on over there.  So he wants to make a movie about this Colonel that I believe was stationed in Fallujah.  It would be a true story, and actually make our troops over there look like they're doing the right thing, you know, reality.  He's become more vocal about support for the troops and President Bush in this war, and out in Hollywood where the disease of pansy-ism and idiocy runs wild, it's quite refreshing to hear this.  In fact, did you know he tried to enlist in the Army after 9/11?  Yep, but they told him he was too old...which is a shame because if John McClain ever got loose on a battlefield, Rambo might even have a hard time against him.  Plus, look at the two major movies he was in this past year - "Sin City" and "Hostage", both of which rocked.  Thankfully now that Clint Eastwood is too old to pull off the tough guy cop stuff, there's someone else that can step right in and pull it off.

Now back when I used to give out the "Babe of the Year" award, it would get a separate page all unto itself due to the magnitude of it.  However, with the winner for "Jackass of the Year", I feel I might go on a bit of a rant, so I'll save the separate page for that one.  This does not diminish the "Babe of the Year" award by any means though.  And here's this year's winner -
 
 

So you don't know who she is?  Well I didn't either until about 2 months ago.  I was just sitting there innocently watching a football game when an ad came on for a new car by Mercury.  I honestly couldn't take my eyes off of her and yet I had no clue who she was.  After that I started seeing the ad all the time, and was like "who the heck is this babe???"  Well a few weeks back I had to find out because I knew she deserved this award and I needed a name!  So I got on google and typed in stuff like "Mercury ad girl" and stuff, and finally found out who she was.  I mean the girl is perfect...well physically anyway...she may be some drama queen psycho for all I know.  But in doing my search I found out she's going to be starring in a new TV series starting this Spring based on the "Blade" movies...and if that didn't rock enough, she also digs older men....awwwww yeah!!!!  I know I fall into any "older guy" category now, because when I went to visit my parents for Christmas my sister turned to me and said "is that gray in your beard???"  Yep, 36 years old with gray in my beard...but like Sean Connery I get more charming with age...it's true, you know it is.  Plus it's not like a little gray in my beard detracts from my rugged good looks...it just enhances it and makes me look more distinguished.  So Jill, if you stumble across this, there's an all-expenses paid night out with yours truly waiting for you.  Just email me and we'll set something up...cool?  Yeah, I thought so.

Ok, and now for the big moment...the 2005 Jackass of the year.  Seriously, this was THE toughest of any of them.  Danzig deserved his awards, Jill DEFINITELY deserved her award, the movies were tough but I picked some winners, but this one...wow...there were TONS to choose from.  First off, the ACLU should get it because of their constant attempts to rip the country apart through the court system, Cindy Sheehan deserved it for flapping her gums and thinking people cared, the New York Times deserved it for "breaking" a story about supposed spying and other stuff, Dick Durbin deserved it for calling our troops Nazi's, John Murtha deserved it for the crap he spewed about Iraq, and Howard Dean should get it for saying we can't win in Iraq.  But none of these people got the award.  No, the person that gets this award...well....it boggles my mind how he has achieved the things in life he has.  I really don't get how someone like him has the status he has...I really don't...and it makes me wonder about the justice in life.  So anyway...the 2005 Rum & Coke Buzz Jackass of the Year award goes to.....