2 posts tagged independence day

The July Fourth holiday has inspired Hollywonk contributor Jeffrey Seasholtz, aka Uncle Shappy, aka the “nerd of spoken word.” (Perhaps you also saw him in Fanboys?). Here’s the latest edition from his Longbox of Opinions:

Every year around this time I dust off my Independence Day DVD and let its jingoistic cheese pour over me like I’m a plate of nachos. And when President Bill Pullman rallies the troops with his “This is our INDEPENDENCE DAY!” speech, it never fails to stir my sense of patriotism to its nerdy American core. (Plus, any movie where Jeff Goldblum saves the planet with a magic laptop can’t be all that bad!)

Independence Day (1996) is an obvious choice for 4th of July viewing, but there are other great films American nerds can watch this holiday and still get that feeling of American pride. So let’s kick the tires and light the fires, big daddy!

Superman II (1980)
When General Zod and his cronies come to planet Houston, they immediately start defacing our beloved American institutions. What balls it takes to blast the faces of our best Presidents off of Mount Rushmore and replace them with your own! When the terrible trio starts smashing up the White House and make President E.G. Marshall kneel before Zod, it really gets my American blood boiling! Eventually, Superman gets his sh&t together after giving up his powers to boink Lois Lane and throws these intergalactic thugs into Marlboro trucks and neon Coca-Cola signs in Times Square. When Superman replaces the American flag to the top of the White House and apologizes to the President, well sir, my eyes swell with tears of American joy!

Red Dawn (1984)
The Brat Pack with automatic weapons! Even when I saw this this in theaters as a teen, I thought to myself “There is NO WAY this is ever going to happen in my lifetime!”. But thank the Lord above that John Milius did. It’s no surprise that Milius had written all of the Dirty Harry movies because Red Dawn is all about American vengeance. This was Patrick Swayze’s first big starring role and I can’t think of a better leader for a group of teenage rebels defending our borders from Cubans and Commies. This movie practically punches you the face with it’s patriotism. Man, I wonder what people in other countries thought of this movie? I guess we’ll get a chance to find out when the re-make comes out next year and watch Thor (Chris Helmsworth) defend our borders from North Korea! WOLVERIIIIIINES!

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