Top 5 : Boys Night Action Movies

1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991, James Cameron)
Terminator 2 features by no means a stellar cast, yet Cameron manages lift these characters into movie immortality. Very few people will disagree that T2 set the benchmark for all action movies to follow, yet very few have manage to exceed it (so far). Ahnuld was born to play the Terminator, and this movie was the source of my crush on Linda Hamilton for most part of the 1990’s.

2. Aliens (1986, James Cameron)
Cameron took the brilliant concept given to us by the equally impressive Alien (1979, Ridley Scott), and gives it his own spin. The result is my everlasting fear of ever having to venture into an air-duct, and anything that emits a “beep-beep-beep” sound. Unfortunately another example of bad movie franchise management. I’ll simply ignore the fact that Alien 3, Alien Resurrection, the and the god awful "Alien v Predator" spinoffs ever existed.

3. Leon (1994, Luc Besson)
Two words. Gary Oldman.

4. Die Hard (1988, John McTiernan)
Kick-started Bruce Willis’movie carreer, and is still one of his best. No action movie is complete without a villainous Jang to the good-guy’s Jing, and here Alan Rickman truly sets the standard. I’ve said it a million times: an action movie is only as good as it’s villain, hence the disastrous failure of Die Hard 4.0.

5. Saving Private Ryan (1998, Steven Spielberg)
From the opening Normandy invasion to the final battle in the village of Ramelle, what I personally find amazing about this film is how Spielberg captures the human emotion during these brutal engagements. Not for the faint of heart, but genuinely rewarding film. The Spielberg and Hanks collaboration followed this up with the excellent "Band of Brothers" (2001), and the (unfortunate) mediocre “The Pacific” (2010).

Should have won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1998 (went to Shakespeare in love), but we’ll settle for Best Director...

6. [Honorable mention] First Blood (1982, Ted Kotcheff)
Set the Hollywood one-man-army-action blueprint for eons to come. Hard to believe this came out the same year Rocky got slapped around by Clubber Lang. (Not to spoil it for you, but in this one, Rocky wins it in the end...)

And you thought your job was tough?

1st Ashes Test finished. 5 Observations...

1. No Johnson, whacking your arm with a wet Spiderman comic doesn’t significantly improve your bowling.

2. Ponting still doesn’t believe in the use of technology to rule in disputed catches. But only during the opposition batting innings.

3. Marcus North (like JP Duminy) is fast becoming Englands best player.

4. Yes, Stuart Broad is still a tool.

5. Test cricket remains a funny game. A Hat-trick, 4 centurions (including Cook's double), records smashed (including Don Bradman’s highest score at the Gabba), and still the game plays out to a mind dumbing draw.

Top 5 : Laugh Out Loud Movies

1. This is Spinal Tap (1984, Rob Reiner)
Hands down my favorite comedy. This movie just seems to get better with each viewing. We follow “the world’s loudest band” Spinal Tap on their doomed “Smell the glove” comeback tour. From perfect casting (Christopher Guest in particular) to great humor, I’m still amazed about the little in-jokes and humor I still discover (even after 15+ viewings).

2. Blazing Saddles (1974, Mel Brooks)
My favorite Mel Brooks film. Harvey Korman (as per usual) steals the show as the scheming Hedley Lamarr, with great performances by Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little and the beautiful Madeline Kahn.

3. The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976, Blake Edwards)
This one still makes me laugh out loud. From the classic Ceto fight scenes, thru the house-staff interrogation, up to the grand storming of the castle, nobody brought Clouseau to life like Sellers did.

4. Stir Crazy (1980, Sidney Poitier)
Although suffering from a terrible 3rd and final act, the entering of the prison up to the actual rodeo are amongst the funnies experiences ever brought to screen by Pryor and Wilder (in my opinion anyway). As a bonus, make sure to watch Richard Pryor’s “Live on Sunset Strip” for his comments on their filming experience at the actual prison.

5. The Party (1968, Blake Edwards)
Sellers plays the bumbling extra, with the unpronounceable name, accidentally invited to a party. The dining scene alone is worth the admission, and just thinking about the chicken stuck on the tiara makes me start giggling. Sellers and Blake Edwards were a match made in heaven.

6. [Honorable mention] Top Secret! (1984, Jim Abrahams et al.)
I’ll simply leave this one as an “in-joke” to the people who went to High School with me…

Remember, this list is LAUGH OUT LOUD comedies. Discuss...