I'm Your Huckleberry

"Why Johnny Ringo, you look like
Somebody just walked over your grave.
Oh I wasn't quite as sick as I made out."
Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), Tombstone

Yeah, I think the number of memorable quotes goes up as the rankings continue, and this little excerpt is a sneak peak of the next entry in the countdown. I'm feeling like just doing three of them now and finishing off the last two sometime next week. Here goes...
 
5. Tombstone
Why: It might be the quintessential "guy" movie--guns and cowboys and bad guys, girls that are good-looking but more of a distraction than a focal point. Kurt Russell is stellar and Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton are tremendous, but Val steals the show with his portrayal of Doc Holliday. He's sick the whole time, but he's easily one of the coolest dudes in motion picture history. The way he plays cards, draws quicker than anyone, the coolness he showed in the saloon when Johnny Ringo challenged him (twirling his cup instead of a gun), and then the final showdown with Ringo, from whence the above quote came. I never did see Unforgiven, but I'd say this is the best Western ever. One drawback, however: that whole riding sequence with Russell and Dana Delany needs to be stricken from the record. The nice thing about DVD's is the ability to skip right past that scene.
Best scene: That final showdown is epic. Wyatt leaves Doc, sick as a dog in his hospital bed, and heads out basically to be ambushed and killed by Ringo. Instead, Doc somehow beats him there and, despite his obvious sickness-induced frailty, outdraws Ringo and kills him (after delivering those classic lines, of course). Wyatt shows up to find the job done and couldn't be more surprised. Doc's explanation finishes the scene off in classic style: "Poor soul, he was so high-strung. Afraid the strain was more than he could bear."

4. Hoosiers
Why: Because it's the best sports movie of all time, hands down. The story is inspirational without being cheesy (hard to do, but "Miracle" pulls that off as well) and the acting from Hackman and Hopper is top-notch. It was viewed on the eve of the CIF playoffs each year in high school, bringing the squad together and psyching us up for a playoff run (note: it definitely worked my junior year, as Eric Sanchez led us to the brink of the finals, but Mihail Papadopopoopoolous saw to it that the Hoosier effect was negligible my senior year). Jimmy Chitwood (played by a dude who evidently is a golf pro in Orange County these days) is a classic character, dead-eye jump shooter and a very quiet cat. It's funny, he's kind of Amare Stoudamire before that whole switching high schools thing became en vogue. I thought players back then just played, without regard for athletic tradition and possible exposure for D-I scouts. Jimmy's decision to play was the biggest thing to hit the town since...um, something else big in Indiana--Abraham Lincoln? No wait, that was Illinois, never mind. Nevertheless, the Hickory High run to the State championship is one of my favorite stories ever.
Best scene: This is a tough one to pick, but I think it's the defining moment for Shooter (Hopper) and the line your father always repeats: "Run the picket fence...and don't get caught watching the paint dry." It's when Coach Norman Dale (Hackman) is attempting to teach Shooter some responsibility, and he's allowed his alcoholic assistant to toil in relative anonymity next to him on the bench to this point. He asks to get tossed from a game (funny dialogue between Dale and the ref), knowing that Shooter will have to take over and get his act together. He makes it happen, thankfully--uncomfortably at first, but eventually in smooth fashion, leading to a timeout that sets up the winning shot. Of course they knock it down--it's Hollywood.
 
3. Fletch
Why: I can watch this any hour of any day, any number of times consecutively, and I will never, ever tire of it. The humor is subtle, incredibly witty, and, above all, timeless. Chevy Chase has never played a better role--and this was when he was making like three movies every year--and the secondary characters are great as well. George Wendt as Fat Sam? Geena Davis as that young reporter Larry? Tim Matheson is a masterful Alan Stanwyk as well (and a decent vice president in the Bartlet administration to boot). A whole mess of good scenes in this one and several great characters--John Cock-toes-ton, Dr. Rosenrosen, Dr. Rosenpenis, Mr. Babar and so on. Little-known fact here: Phil Alden Robinson, the man behind the adaptation of "Shoeless Joe" into "Field of Dreams," is the guy who turned the mystery novel "Fletch" into this work of art. If only the sequel were as clever...
Best scene: Too many to choose from, like food options on a cruise ship. Despite the comedic genius of numerous scenes and characters, I've gotta go with the dream sequence, if only because it features the late, great Chick Hearn. Fletch is a Laker fan, which scores him points right off the bat, and he's got a life-size cut-out of Magic Johnson on his wall, holding the ball with which he shoots hoops in his living room (albeit on a five-foot-high rim). He falls asleep with the game on and then sees himself as a Laker, 6-foot-5 (6-9 with the afro) and dominant. Chicky baby gives the play-by-play on one spectacular drive to the hoop, and then we see the replay--Fletch biting the guy's arm while he's taking it to the hole. Classic.

Unfortunately I've run out of momentum on the list, still two to go (wondering what they might be??) and they'll hopefully be coming soon. Peace.