Category: Movies

Vote Now For Your Favorite Christmas Movie

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christmasreel

It’s time once again for a little reader participation. With all the Christmas movies that are being shown right now, I was curious on what your favorite Christmas movie is. Below, I will list 9 very popular movies along with an “Other” category. If you choose this option because you really feel that Reindeer Games or The Santa Clause needs to be included, then please list the movie you are voting for. You may also notice that It’s A Wonderful Life is not among the movies listed. There is a reason for that. I contend and will continue to do so to my dying day that this is NOT a Christmas movie. Yes, the last scene takes place at Christmastime. This doesn’t make it a Christmas movie. Most of the movie does not revolve around Christmas, so I refuse to put it in here. So if you decide to list that in the “other” category, I will not count it. I have nothing against the movie, as it is actually one of my favorite movies of all time, but it doesn’t belong here. I will reveal the results of the poll on Christmas Eve. Have fun kids.

My Favorite Bad Movies

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Okay, it looks like everyone that is going to chime in on the bad movie question has done so, and I must say I received some really good responses. My Con Air suggestion really inspired some people to say that was also one they couldn’t turn off. Beyond that, I’d have to say that the best responses were The Skulls which came from my buddy Greg. That’s a hard one to admit brother so kudos to you for having the stones to put that out there. My mother even contributed with Overboard (even I can’t sit through that-ask my ex-wife) and Save The Last Dance. Who doesn’t love a good story about a black guy and a white girl that lets dancing solve all of their problems for them? Good stuff Mama. Speaking of dancing, Step Up was also mentioned and I will admit that I do sometimes watch that when it’s on. Yeah, I said it. My favorite response, however, came from my buddy Clay who almost takes the title with Howard The Duck. And the only reason why that wouldn’t win a contest had I had one is that movie isn’t a bad movie, rather one of the best movies ever made. What are my favorite bad movies? I thought you’d never ask. But since you did, here is my countdown of bad movies that I just can’t seem to get away from.

5. 8 Seconds

Sorry, but this movie is great. Granted, I may like Luke Perry more than most, but his portrayal of legendary bullrider Lane Frost was pretty solid. Even if Stephen Baldwin had to come along for the ride.

4. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

I don’t think I’ll get too many arguments on this one. Outside of the obvious comedic value, you get a little history lesson as well, which is nice.

3. Urban Cowboy

Some people wouldn’t even consider this to be a bad movie, but if you really think about how awful the acting is and the story itself, it is. But I don’t care. I love it. I own it. I watch it. Moving on…

2. Any Jean-Claude Van Damme movie up until 1994

Any of that straight to DVD garbage after Timecop I won’t watch, but give me No Retreat, No Surrender, Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Double Impact, Lionheart, or Universal Soldier and I’m good to go.

1. Demolition Man

Stallone. Snipes. Bullock (yes, I can even stand Sandra Bullock for once, but this is before she got overly famous and famously annoying). This movie is so awful that it’s phenomenal. It’s set in the future, it’s full of insanely cheesy one-liners, and it mixes the action with the comedy. And yes, I again watched it from start to finish on Monday night when it was on AMC. And it had the movie notes, which only enhanced the experience. Good stuff.

Thanks for all those who played along for this ridiculous post. Just wanted to have some fun, so I hope you enjoyed it. Talk to you again soon.

What is your favorite bad movie?

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     It’s been nearly a month since I’ve written anything and to be honest with you, the last piece I wrote about Angie seriously took a lot out of me. However, I’m very glad I wrote it and the response it received was amazing, especially from the Samuelson family themselves. So I thank all those that read it and passed along such kind words to me.

     On that note, I thought I’d go a little lighter for this one. With the holiday coming up, there are sure to be many movie marathons on many different channels and while driving today, I got to thinking about how many bad movies have actually been made, but how many of them I actually enjoy and can’t turn off when I come across them while flipping channels. Movies like ConAir or The Rock come to mind immediately (notice that Nicolas Cage is in a lot of movies like this). So to my loyal followers, I want to hear from you. What bad movies can you just never turn away from? Guys, can you get off the couch when movies like The Last Dragon come on? Yeah, I went there and no, I can’t either. Ladies, is your day delayed by a couple hours if you know Adventures in Babysitting is on? So let me know. Leave your comments below, or just message me on Facebook or tweet @THElukenorris and in a few days, I’ll post some of the best responses from my readers and let you know my favorites as well. Have fun with this one. Enjoy.

The Best (and Worst) Baseball Movies

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Over the years, Hollywood has given us countless movies about the great game of baseball. Some have been great; think The Pride of the Yankees, A League of Their Own, and Moneyball. Some have been just awful; think The Scout, The Fan, and Summer Catch. Some have been for the kids; think Angels in the Outfield, Rookie of the Year, and Little Big League. Some have been simply entertaining; think Mr. Baseball, The Bad News Bears, and The Rookie. Then there are those that are unforgettable, so to coincide with today’s release of the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42, which has the potential to be one of those unforgettable classics, I recently asked my readers to vote on their favorite baseball movie. I will post those results below, followed by the worst 5 baseball movies, and conclude with my personal top 5 favorites. So without further delay, the Top 5 Baseball Movies as voted by you.

5. The Natural-8%
T3. The Sandlot-16%
T3. For The Love of the Game-16%
2. Bull Durham-20%
1. Field of Dreams-28%

Quite the impressive list, folks. Well done. And I would agree with 3 of your top 5.

TOP 5 WORST BASEBALL MOVIES
5. The Babe– I like John Goodman just as much as the next guy, but this portrayal of The Great Bambino was a joke.
4. Mr. 3000– Bernie Mac, you are missed by many but movies like this are missed by nobody.
3. Major League: Back to the Minors– What an awful way to end a trilogy, even if it’s always nice to see Scott Bakula at work.
2. Ed-Matt LeBlanc and a chimpanzee-is there anything else to say?
1. Hardball-Here’s what some studio executive thought: You know what would make a great movie? We make Keanu Reeves the coach of an inner-city baseball team. But this executive isn’t the problem: the person who greenlit the movie is. Just awful.

MY PERSONAL TOP 5 FAVORITE BASEBALL MOVIES OF ALL TIME
5. The Sandlot-If you read my article on what baseball means to me, then you know that baseball was my first love. And this movie is so symbolic of how I felt as a kid. Summers spent outside playing baseball with your friends. Excellent work and honestly, when you’re frustrated how many times in your life have you said “You’re killin’ me Smalls”?
4. Major League-“Forget about the curveball Ricky. Give him the heater.” One of many classic lines from one of the most quotable baseball movies of all time. A true comedy classic.
3. 61*-Billy Crystal wowed me with this story of the 1961 homerun battle between Roger Maris and the great Mickey Mantle as they chased the record of Babe Ruth. If you haven’t seen or heard of this movie, I highly recommend giving it a watch, if for nothing else to see that Barry Pepper should have done better with his career.
2. The Natural-Roy f’ing Hobbs.
1. Field of Dreams-This is one of those movies that if I come across it on television, I’m in it until the end. It’s got everything one could want. Drama, comedy, baseball, ghosts, and of course, James Earl Jones. The speech he gives towards the end of the movie gives me goosebumps every time, immediately followed by the lump in my throat that comes with “Dad, you wanna have a catch?” Time after time, just amazing.

Thanks to all those who voted. I had a great time covering this topic and I hope you enjoyed it as well.

Vote now on your favorite baseball movie

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In a couple of weeks, the movie 42 hits theatres. The movie chronicles the amazing story of Jackie Robinson and how he broke the color barrier in the big leagues. It has the potential to be one of the great baseball movies, so before the release, I’d like to know what your favorite baseball movie is. I’ve listed some to choose from, but if you’d like to add one to the list, leave your pick in the Comments section. Click on the link for your choices. After a couple of weeks, I’ll give you the results and then give you my picks for the best and worst baseball movies of all time.

What is your favorite baseball movie?