Blog battle: Patriotic movies of the '80s

Are you ready for a red, white and bruisin'? Fantastic, because St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall and I squaring off over the best patriotic movies of the 1980s.

First, a confession: I proudly let Persall's reviews guide almost all my movie-ticket buying decisions, with only a couple notable differences. I'll see any John Cusack, Cameron Crowe or Star Trek movie -- no matter how bad a review he gives them. In fact, I'll be spending July 4 in front of the TV, watching my "Elizabethtown" and "Say Anything" DVDs back to back all day, sobbing onto a big plate of mini corndogs.

But today, all bets are off. We've agreed ahead of time to pick different movies, but no matter how much he intellectualizes the themes of his weepy choices, I think my Commie-bashing, red-blooded approach will win you over.

STUCK IN THE 80's TOP 5 PATRIOTIC MOVIES OF THE 80s:

5. First Blood (1982): Mopey Vietnam vet ... moody townies ... blood-gushing violence ... Stallone almost intelligible. A classic, right? "Company leader to Raven! Rambo! Acknowledge!"

4. Platoon (1986): The acting opus for not only Charlie Sheen, but also Willem Dafoe (though you gotta love him in "Streets of Fire") and Tom Berenger. Plus "Johnny Drama" from "Entourage"? That's the real right stuff. "Feelin' good's good enough."

  3. Top Gun (1986): Remember when Tom Cruise made movies you wanted to watch? Nothing like a bunch of ego-swelled Navy pilots, sweating their asses off, "communicating" with MiG pilots ("Yes, I know 'the bird,' Goose...") to get your pride on. Through in a little Kelly McGillis, some Kenny Loggins and Berlin and it's blast-off time.  "That's right! Ice... man. I am dangerous."

2. Iron Eagle (1986): Hear me out on this one. Louis Gossett Jr. as "Chappy Sinclair" -- classic -- leading a teenager in a jet to the Middle East to rescue his father? But some campy dialog and a monster soundtrack, featuring Queen's "One Vision" and Twister Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It," and you have Masterpiece Theater for the 80s.

1. Red Dawn (1984): I love this one because it truly happened. Yeah, I pretty much figure the Russians and Cubans invaded America back in '84 during those couple weeks when I couldn't tear myself away from my Atari 2600. (I had to get my Asteriods on.) But think about it: Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Grey, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen and Harry Dean Stanton? Don't tell me you're not sobbing at the end during the closing narration ... "In the early days of World War 3, guerillas - mostly children - placed the names of their lost upon this rock. They fought here alone and gave up their lives, so that this nation should not perish from the earth."

Now, my take on Persall's picks:

• Born on the Fourth of July: Essentially just a dramatic version of Forrest Gump. Seriously. Think about it.
• Glory: Matthew Broderick's stiffest acting performance -- ever. (Yeah, including "Project X.")
• The Right Stuff: Great soundtrack surrounding two-plus hours of urination and enema jokes.
• Good Morning Vietnam: Your basic Robin Williams stand-up performance in fatigues. (I'd have picked "Moscow on the Hudson" instead, but I guess Persall's a closet commie.)
  
• Rocky 4: It's got communists, boxing, steroids, Stallone. Oh my, he may have me on this pick.

So there you go. Remember to read Persall's blog and then leave us comments and let us know how we did. And remember, when it comes to patriotism, Persall's ego is writing checks his body can't cash!

Comments

[videos gratis]

Great blog congratulations!come visit our site and see amazing free on line movies www.zigbr.com

my site is the best in the world
Visit the best free vids site on the net

[Spears]

The Right Stuff: Zero Queen songs.

Case closed! It's not a REAL 80s movie.

[Dan]

Persall's list owns yours. Not even close.

You're actually serious about ripping The Right Stuff on his list AND having Iron Eagle on yours?

[Six]

Hey, I liked Iron Eagle! At least it was better than "Rooftops".

[Phil]

Iron Eagle?!? It's not even funny bad.

[jim]

Just the top 2 for me.
2. Glory
1. The Right Stuff - F'n A Bubba!

[Vince]

I am an unabashed Pearsall fan. His reviews dictate my movie choices.I think First Blood was one of the worst movies ever made and Platoon one of the best. But Pearsall's five easily outdistance Spears' with Glory topping the list, for me. I'm from the geriatic generation (ww II) and a Korean War vet so I might have included 12 O'clock High and The Big Red 1

[Spears]

I haven't corrected anything, Mr. Persall. It's all blog-o-riffic.

[rik]

born on the fourth of july........just like a dramatic version of forest gump ? huh ?........what the......

[Greg Williams]

Looks like he corrected his typos.

Red Dawn probably gave us the closest to a realistic scenario sans nukes in "Red Dawn". If I'm not mistaken, it is also the first movie that was given the newly created rating of "PG-13". I always thought "Testament" was a more realistic view of post-nuclear holocaust survival that "The Day After" myself.

I'd have to disagree on "The Right Stuff" being three hours of urine and enema jokes. Just about every time I see it on AMC or HBO I'm leaving the remote alone. It's still a great movie to watch and see just what a throttle jockey went through to get the lead in the space race.

I wonder if "2010: The Year We Make Contact" would be included in this? Same for any of the James Bond movies that dealt with the evil Soviet empire? I know Octopussy was one.

And what about "Empire Strikes Back" or "Return of the Jedi"? It's not AMERICAN patriotism, it's GALACTIC patriotism there!!!

Too bad that "The Hunt For Red October" was in 1990. It'd be my #1 movie. I saw it 3 times in the theater.

I'd split this fight down the middle here. I don't think either list is overwhelming, to be honest. I was never personally keen on "Born on the 4th of July", and "Iron Eagle" and it's sequels have to be the worst of Louis Gossett's career. After such a brilliant performance in "An Officer and a Gentleman", I expected better.

My top 5 would be:

5: Red Dawn
4: The Right Stuff
3: Rambo: First Blood Pt II
2: Full Metal Jacket
1: Platoon

What about "Reds" or "Taps"? Would they fall into the Patriotic Genre? Would "An Officer and a Gentleman"?

And lest we forget "Spies Like Us", "Red Heat", "The Falcon and the Snowman", "Missing in Action" (don't you dare forget Chuck Norris), "Moscow on the Hudson", and "Firefox".

[Greg Williams]

Looks like he corrected his typos.

Red Dawn probably gave us the closest to a realistic scenario sans nukes in "Red Dawn". If I'm not mistaken, it is also the first movie that was given the newly created rating of "PG-13". I always thought "Testament" was a more realistic view of post-nuclear holocaust survival that "The Day After" myself.

I'd have to disagree on "The Right Stuff" being three hours of urine and enema jokes. Just about every time I see it on AMC or HBO I'm leaving the remote alone. It's still a great movie to watch and see just what a throttle jockey went through to get the lead in the space race.

I wonder if "2010: The Year We Make Contact" would be included in this? Same for any of the James Bond movies that dealt with the evil Soviet empire? I know Octopussy was one.

And what about "Empire Strikes Back" or "Return of the Jedi"? It's not AMERICAN patriotism, it's GALACTIC patriotism there!!!

Too bad that "The Hunt For Red October" was in 1990. It'd be my #1 movie. I saw it 3 times in the theater.

I'd split this fight down the middle here. I don't think either list is overwhelming, to be honest. I was never personally keen on "Born on the 4th of July", and "Iron Eagle" and it's sequels have to be the worst of Louis Gossett's career. After such a brilliant performance in "An Officer and a Gentleman", I expected better.

My top 5 would be:

5: Red Dawn
4: The Right Stuff
3: Rambo: First Blood Pt II
2: Full Metal Jacket
1: Platoon

What about "Reds" or "Taps"? Would they fall into the Patriotic Genre? Would "An Officer and a Gentleman"?

And lest we forget "Spies Like Us", "Red Heat", "The Falcon and the Snowman", "Missing in Action" (don't you dare forget Chuck Norris), "Moscow on the Hudson", and "Firefox".

[Steve Persall]

Is that the only mistake you found, Chase? There are plenty besides his 5 picks and decision to engage. I'll give a Harry Potter IMAX sneak preview free pass for 2 (at St. Pete's Baywalk) to the person who identifies and posts the most incorrect spellings, incomplete sentences, etc.) in Steve's post. That is, before he sees this and corrects them.

"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a game of chess?"

[chase]

I think it's "Covey leader to Raven" ...

I'm with you on Red Dawn, greatest cold war movie ever (okay, second to Dr. Strangelove) ... WOLVERINES!