ROLL OUT!

It’s no secret I love gigantic Summer blockbusters.  By the time a tent pole movie arrives, I’ve usually written a dozen or so articles about how excited I am to see it.  Last year, movies like The Dark Knight Rises & The Avengers were mentioned more than any other movie on this blog.

XTRA | The Athletic Nerd on The Dark Knight

XTRA | Top 10 Moments: Marvel’s The Avengers

COUNTDOWN | Top 10 Summer Movies 2013

This year, Star Trek Into Darkness, Man of Steel, Iron Man 3 & Pacific Rim and more will  more than likely dominate the next few months.  But what about the not so distant future?  2014 is beginning to take shape and today, I start writing about one of the more intriguing blockbusters.

TRANSFORMERS 4

I think Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim is the biggest reason why they have to be careful with Transformers 4.  The scope is bigger, the stakes are bigger and the fights are infinitely bigger.

Michael Bay is going to have to follow Pacific Rim with his reinvigorated Autobot tale.  But I’m encouraged by his approach thus far.  He isn’t trying to go bigger.  He’s taking the franchise back to it’s roots.  In it’s simplest form, the original Transformers was about a boy and his car.  It was an intimate story that slowly lead to bigger things.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen lost sight of that.   They tried to blow the roof off and wound up messing things up.

Dark of the Moon was a much more focused story but the damage was already done.  There were too many robots and not enough connections.  This is why I completely agree with the notion of introducing a new cast to the franchise.

“We’re going to start off smaller. There’s a brand new cast. To freshen the franchise we’ve redesigned everything from top to bottom. The history of the first three movies is still there, we start four years later and there’s a reason why we’re meeting a new cast.” (MichaelBay.com)

With Mark Walberg leading the way, Transformers 4 promises to be a more mature approach leaving Shia and his love interests behind.

I’m also a big fan of setting the film in the same universe as the first 3 movies.  This way, we don’t have to spend much time setting things up.  Transformers 4 is a non reboot…  Reboot.  I loved the original Transformers and I really hope going back to basics allows them to create something truly memorable.

But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.  This is merely an introduction to what will become extensive coverage in the near future.

Transformers 4 is coming.  Will they screw it up?  Will it be the best in the series?

I’m a proud movie nerd.

We’ve covered that so it shouldn’t surprise anyone who reads this blog that I follow box office numbers closely.  The only place I go for box office information online is Box Office Mojo.

Recently, I was checking the all time domestic numbers and decided to see if I could narrow the top 100 down to 10.  Can you?

Click here to see the Top 100

So here are my 10 favorite box office moneymakers.

Honourable Mention: Avatar, 300, The Sixth Sense, Saving Private Ryan

Star Wars

#4 – $460,998,007

I adore the original trilogy and enjoyed the prequels but A New Hope will always be my favorite. (Followed closely by Empire Strikes Back.)

XTRA | If I Could Only Recommend ONE Science Fiction Film

Spider-Man

#9 – $403,706,375

It may not be my favorite superhero movie of all time but it certainly paved the way for some of the most entertaining movies in history.

“Go web go!”

Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King

#12 – $377,027,325

It’s tough to pick one movie when all three are in the top 100.  I look at the series and see one giant incredible movie but I had to pick one so ROTK was the winner.

XTRA | Movies That Changed Everything: The Lord of the Rings

Transformers

#22 – $319,246,193

Even though I absolutely hated the sequel, the original is one of the most entertaining popcorn movies I’ve ever seen on the big screen.  It had giant fighting robots and some of the best and most complex visual effects ever created.

XTRA | Transformers 3?  Apology accepted Michael Bay

Independence Day

#30 – $306,169,268

Will Smith is my favorite actor.  I’m one of the reasons his movies always make 100 million+ in theaters.  Independence Day will always be one of the greats.  ID4 is a perfect example of a huge box office blockbuster.  Big stars, big FX and big thrills.

XTRA | Wouldn’t it be awesome if Independence Day 2 was about…

Signs

#70 – $227,966,634

I talk about Signs a lot on this site. I even thought about leaving it off this list to avoid ‘Signs fatigue’.  However, I simply couldn’t bring myself to leave my all time favorite movie off the list.

The Matrix Reloaded

#41 – $281,576,461

It’s ambitious, it’s explosive, it’s cool and it’s confusing.  It was once the record holder for most anticipated movie until it was toppled by The Dark Knight years later.

XTRA | What THE MATRIX screenplay taught me

Twister

#61 – $241,721,524

Twister may surprise some people but I’ve always loved this movie.  When I was a kid, I used to be terrified of tornado warnings.  This eventually ignited an interest in weather and this movie came along right in the middle of that childhood obsession.  Twister is a fun movie. Plain and Simple.

Jurassic Park

#15 – $357,067,947

To this day, I’m still fascinated by how well the effects stand up compared to today’s standards.  Such a fun movie.

The Dark Knight

#3 – $533,345,358

My second favorite movie ever.  I’ve never been so excited to see a movie in my entire life and to have the film deliver on all the hype was amazing.

Try narrowing down your own list of 10 box office favorites.  It’s not that easy.

Go to any major sports website and you will find Power Rankings.  A popular ranking system that lists every team in a league from best to worst.

Since I work for a sports network, it makes perfect sense to take that system and rank my favorite movies of all time.

Except I’m doing things a little differently.  These won’t be updated weekly. (That would be ridiculous) However, you will find links to stories I’ve written on the films in addition to trailers and bonus posts.

We start with 16-30.  Click here for 1-15.

Saving Private Ryan

I made a couple war movies when I was in high school.  I think every film nerd did.  To me, Saving Private Ryan is the definitive war film.  Hanks, Spielberg and a phenomenal story.

• 10 Flicks: Best Picture Oscar Losers
• 10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features
• 10 Flicks: Box Office Favorties
• 10 Flicks: Movies From Awesome Directors
• 10 Flicks: Yearly Favorites

Star Wars

I can’t wait to get my hands on the complete series on Blu Ray.

• 10 Flicks: Best Picture Oscar Losers
• 10 Flicks: Movies I’ve Seen In Theaters More Than Once
• Why Special Features Inspire Filmmakers
• 10 Flicks: Box Office Favorites

Pulp Fiction

Like millions of film fans, I’m completely addicted to Quentin Tarantino’s films.

• Movies That Changed Everything: Pulp Fiction
• 10 Flicks: Best Picture Oscar Losers
• 10 Flicks: Best Editing Oscar Losers
• 10 Flicks: VHS Movies I Need To Upgrade
• 10 Flicks: Bad Ass Movies
• 10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features

Transformers

I’m a fan of Michael Bay.  I had so much fun watching this movie.  I can’t think of a better compliment to give the film.

• All Time Best: Movie Character You Would Want To Be Friends With
• 10 Flicks: If I Could Only Own 10 Movies
• 10 Flicks: Box Office Favorites

Forrest Gump

The perfect movie to watch on a lazy day.

• 10 Flicks: Character Driven Movies
• 10 Flicks: Lazy Day Movies
• 10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features

Varsity Blues

This movie heavily influenced a basketball screenplay I wrote in high school.  Love ‘The New Twitter End Zone Dance’.

• 10 Flicks: Movies With Championship Games
• 10 Flicks: Pre Drinking Comedies 2

The Sixth Sense

Someone ruined the end of this movie for me.  I still loved it.

• Movies That Changed Everything: The Sixth Sense
• 10 Flicks: Horror Movies With Great Stories
• It’s Time For Another Twist Ending
• All Time Best: Twist Ending
• 10 Flicks: Box Office Favorites
• Director Wars: Nolan vs Shyamalan
• Director Wars: Nolan vs Shyamalan 2
• 10 Flicks: Yearly Favorites

The Last Samurai

I thought this movie was fascinating.  Well written, well acted and tons of amazing action.  My kind of movie.

• Rainy Sundays: The Last Samurai
• 10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features
• 10 Flicks: Yearly Favorites

Tommy Boy

What can you say about Chris Farley?  One of the funniest people who ever lived.

• All Time Best: Punch In The Face
• 10 Flicks: Pre-Drinking Comedies 2
• 10 Flicks: Awesome Double Features

The Social Network

Nerds.  It’s a trademark on this site and I loved every second of watching the creation of Facebook unfold on the big screen.

• 2010′s All Time Top 5 Movies
• Nerds & The Social Network
• 10 Flicks: Movies With Smart Characters

There Will Be Blood

Daniel Plainview is one of my favorite characters of all time.  Amazing performance by Daniel Day Lewis.

• Movies That Changed Everything: There Will Be Blood
• 10 Flicks: Best Picture Oscar Losers
• 10 Flicks: Character Driven Movies
• Rainy Sundays: There Will Be Blood

Old School

One of the best Pre Drinking Comedies.  A classic.

• 10 Flicks: Pre Drinking Comedies

Paranormal Activity

My favorite movie of 2009.  The most fun I had in theaters in a long time.

• 2009′s All Time Top 5 Movies
• I Call These Movies, Awesome Movies
• Director Wars: Gareth Edwards vs Oren Peli
• 10 Flicks: Movies I’ve Seen In Theaters More Than Once
• Why Paranormal Activity Saved Horror Films
• Paranormal Activity Director Is Awesome

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I grew up with Ninja Turtles.  I love Ninja Turtles.  I’m obsessed with Ninja Turtles.

Note: What’s with the voices in this trailer?

• Why Ninja Turtles Made Me Cry
• Rainy Sundays: Ninja Turtles
• Wouldn’t It Be Awesome If TMNT 2 Featured Bebop & Rocksteady?
• All Time Best: Movie Henchmen
• 10 Flicks: Movies That Make Me Hungry

The Lion King

A wonderful classic Disney movie.  One of the best.  I love cartoons.

• Rainy Sundays: The Lion King

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY
MOVIES ABOUT ROBOTS

Stop reading now if you aren’t entertained by giant robots kicking the crap out of each other…  You can stay if you hated Transformers 2 because everybody hated that movie.

This year, we will be treated to not one but TWO giant robot movies.  Transformers Dark of the Moon and Real Steel.  Even though I thought Transformers Revenge of the Fallen was a complete disaster, the third installment is still one of my most anticipated movie of the summer.  There are other movies that are close but I happen to love Michael Bay action movies and his new film looks like a blast.

XTRA: Check out my summer movie rankings.

Some people may not like the Transformers franchise (or Michael Bay) at all but I love big summer movies like this.  You would think I’d be a little more excited about Real Steel but I’m not completely sold yet.

So many boxing movies are among the most successful sports films ever made.  2010 gave us yet another Academy Award winning boxing film in The Fighter.  Something tells me Real Steel won’t be winning any Oscars but it could still be entertaining.

Boxing may be the most decorated sport on the big screen but if there is a second place it’s baseball.  Let’s get some robots on a diamond shall we?

Remember Base Wars for NES?

Base Wars is an old school baseball game where you play with a team of supercharged Cyborgs with guns.  In this baseball game, you aren’t out if you’re tagged.  You fight for the base and it was a blast.

My favorite baseball game growing up was Baseball Simulator 1000 but Base Wars is a close second.  How can you resist beating the hell out of your friends just to be safe a second?  Even pitching a ball right down the middle only to curve it at the last second was sweet.

Having complete control over the ball like that got annoying so we instituted a rule that one pitch per at bat had to be down the middle. You just never knew which one.  Failing to comply with this rule meant you had to lose the next battle.  Tough cost as your robots took damage throughout the game.

Could they make a Base Wars movie? I think it would be very similar to Real Steel so you would have to avoid that.  I like the idea of making a Base Wars movie set in a world that’s become too technologically obsessed and forgotten the purity of things like Baseball.

My Base Wars movie would mix The Sandlot and Field of Dreams together and have the whole thing revolve around our history as a species.

Movies like this tend to assume that people stopped watching humans play in favor of huge Gladiator Robots.  I think Major League Baseball would remain.  It has to!

Here is how I would do it.

MLB struggles in the ratings so they decide to add Base Wars to the seventh inning stretch of each game.  I would have the film center on a family with three generations.  A grandfather who played a few pro seasons, his son who is currently a major league manager and former player and his son who is a gifted engineer.

The movie would be about our emotional attachment to the game AND about the evolution of our planet’s technology.  Also there would be HUGE robot battles and a ton of baseball.

I just wouldn’t want the movie to be set in the future where baseball is dead.  That’s not a movie I want to see.  There would be nothing but bitter old men rejecting the game.  I think the integration of robots is enough while still preserving what makes the game of baseball great.  Of course, there still needs to be some high stakes and conflicts but I haven’t developed the entire story yet.

Will we ever see a Base Wars movie?  Probably not but if this video is any evidence, we may see the real thing someday.

I’d name the robots after famous movies. Johnny 5, Optimus, HAL etc…

PS: How have we not had a remake of Base Wars yet?!  Get on it people!

This was a fun post to write.

Among my friends, it was a pretty good debate as to who the champion might be.

Would Billy Madison still be fun once he graduated from teacher’s college?

Could it be Frodo? Or is Sam a better friend overall.

Chewbacca?  A co-worker of mine summed up the Star Wars alum well:

“He’s got your back.”

How bad ass would it be if your best friend was Optimus Prime?  Can you imagine piling into a vehicle on your way to the bars and he yells

“Roll out!”

Hmmmmm…

Perhaps, the winner is Frank the Tank.

“I can see Blue…  He looks glorious!”

At the same time, arguments can be made for Vince Vaughn’s Bernard as well.

While we’re on the topic…  How about Wedding Crashers?

What about Stifler?  Would he get annoying over time? Is E.L from Road Trip a better pick or is that just Stifler again?

On an obscure note, I’ve always been a fan of Jesse from Garden State.  Who wouldn’t want a friend who’s filthy rich thanks to silent velcrow and bombs around mansions in golf carts.

Would you rather be friends with Marty Mcfly or Doc Brown?  Marty would stay up later but what if the flux capacitor breaks down?

“Where we’re going we don’t need roads.”

Terminator? Dutch?

Slater from Dazed and Confused?

Anyone from The Hangover?  Mike Tyson as Mike Tyson from The Hangover?

What about Red from The Shawshank Redemption?

In the end, arguments can be made for all of these characters and thousands of others I probably overlooked.

Still, I’m pretty happy about my pick.

It’s hard to argue that a fantastic friend to have would be:

Van Wilder

Van Wilder (who also drives a golf cart… ) would have been a blast to hang out with in college.

True, having Chewy around would be a fantastic conversation starter but I’m basing my opinion on someone from earth for the purposes of this post.

Wait!!!

I think I’ve changed my mind…

Just looking at that Chewy pic of him pitching makes him the real winner here.  How could you not want him as a friend?

Here it is again:

Nice.

What’s your pick?