Issue #57: Snakes Be Gone
Shoutout to my boy Saint Patrick.
Welcome back, everybody!
Just a quick breakdown of the blog for any new readers:
I ramble for a bit and give an update on my life and what I’m thinking about this week
I talk about the movies I watched recently (usually in the last week but I’m still catching up)
I do some rankings, ask some hypothetical questions (ex: what are the chances my dad cries while watching this movie?), and then I give my no frills, no jokes review
We ignore grammar errors here at the blog. Give me a break.
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Hi everyone.
If you can call me one thing; I hope it’s committed.
It’s currently 2:12 am in Chicago as I write this sentence.
*Editor’s Note: It’s 2:53 now.*
I took a redeye from Los Angeles here last night that landed at Midway at 5:00 am. I’m working on less than 4 hours of sleep, many miles of walking around Chicago, and a night out at the bars. But guess what?
I’m still getting a blog out for you guys because right now, that’s the most important thing to me.
Sure I just came home from putting back a few Guinness with my friends. That doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is that I get a second blog out to you all on this fine week, the day before Saint Patrick’s Day weekend.
I’m gonna be honest: I don't really have any ideas for this intro other than some recommendations. What is there to say about St. Patrick’s Day or Ireland that I haven’t said already?
I love Ireland, I’ve been there and I’d really like to go back with my cousins, I’ve ranked forms of potatoes, I’ve written about Irish movies in the past, and I’ve made it clear that I’m extremely proud to be Irish. I know Saint Patrick’s Day has devolved into a day of drinking Guinness while you wear green (which is how I’m gonna spend much of this weekend if I’m being completely honest with you), but with days like this, it’s important to remember the story behind the day.
Basically, (and this is without doing any research) a guy named Patrick (now a Saint) got rid of all of the snakes from Ireland. Then he became a saint and now we celebrate the day he got rid of the snakes from Ireland in the form of Saint Patrick’s Day.
To be clear: do not quote me on any of that. I wrote that without doing a speck of research and it could be completely off base and incorrect. That being said, celebrating a guy who told snakes to fuck off is a pretty cool reason to have a holiday.
Super quick intro today; let’s get into some recommendations.
Here's a list of movies/docs you should check out (in no particular order):
Check these out this weekend if you have a movie/date night. They’re all Irish/St. Patrick’s Day related, so this weekend would be perfect for you to check them out!
Kneecap (2024)
I wrote about this movie a little while back. I couldn’t recommend it more. It was one of my favorite movies from 2024 and I want more people to see it.
Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959)
The most iconic St. Patrick’s Day movie of all time. It’s got pre-James Bond Sean Connery, some wild camera tricks to pull off the little people, and a lot of charm. I haven’t seen it in a very long time, but it belongs on this list.
The Luck of the Irish (2001)
This is a Disney Channel Original movie. I wouldn't be recommending a Disney Channel Original movie if I wouldn’t watch it myself. Have I seen this movie in 15+ years? No, but I remember it being great when it came out and I choose to remember it that way. Give it a chance.
The Banshees of Inishirin (2022)
Great movie about lost friendship that is a thinly veiled metaphor for The Troubles/The Civil War in Ireland. The main cast of this movie is absolutely lights out and I could not recommend it more. It may not be for everyone, but it’s a fantastic black comedy that has a lot to say. It was also included in one of my first blogs.
Once (2007)
This is one of the best music-oriented films of all time. It’s smaller in scope than any music film you’ve seen before but that didn’t stop it from winning an Oscar for Original Song when it came out. Like a lot of Irish movies, you may shed a tear or two, but you’ll feel good at the end despite everything. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for something different than most things that are made today.
Alright, quick blog today. Let’s get on to it.
I made a new website. It’s basically the same as the old Vault, but it’s been given a makeover and the movies and documentaries I watched in 2024 are now available as well. If you check it out please give me suggestions on how I can make it better. And let me know if there are any issues I need to fix.
Check it out here!
Alright, on to the blog.
Movies count for the year: 46
Doc count for the year: 8
In Honor of St. Patrick’s Day…
Today I’m only covering movies that have to do with Saint Patrick’s Day (or are adjacent to Saint Patrick’s Day in some way). Give them a read; you might just learn something new!
Running It Back
The Fugitive (1993)
AKA: Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones play hide and seek.
Sometimes you just want to watch a great movie. Sometimes you (and by you I mean me) don’t want to play the lottery and try out a new movie for fear of disliking it. When times like this happen I get to watch movies like The Fugitive.
I fucking love this movie. I don’t exactly remember why I chose to watch it a few months ago, but I think it had to do with the fact that I hadn’t watched it since 2019. That’s simply too long in between watches for a movie as good as this one. The timing also works out great for it to be on the blog. As I write this I’m in the airport about to board a flight to Chicago for St. Patrick’s Day. This movie is both:
A great Chicago movie
Has a whole chase sequence during the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Chicago
Basically, what I’m trying to say is, I’m hoping that a few things happen on Saturday:
I get to hang out with my friends
I get to drink a few Guinness
I get framed for killing my wife this weekend so I can be chased through the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade by Tommy Lee Jones.
That doesn’t seem like too much to ask, now does it?
Here are some notes I wrote down as soon as I finished watching this movie a while back:
John Mulaney
Harrison Ford age vs Tommy Lee Jones age
Harrison Ford in general
Let’s go through these 1-by-1 very quickly.
The First Bullet Point.
This of course pertains to the John Mulaney stand-up special, The Comeback Kid, where he goes off on a tangent about the movie, The Fugitive.
If you don’t want spoilers to this movie do not watch this video.
I first watched that special in 2018 (I watched it 4 times that year for some reason) and I hadn’t seen The Fugitive at that point in my life. I’d recommend watching The Fugitive before watching this stand-up special.
2nd Bullet Point.
If I were to ask you which of these guys is older; what you would say?
Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones are both old men. Harrison Ford is 82 years old and Tommy Lee Jones is 78. The only difference between them (other than those 4 years) is that Harrison Ford has only started to look old relatively recently while Tommy Lee Jones has looked old for the last 50 years.
I wrote in a blog (probably a year ago at this point) about actors who have looked old for my entire life. This list centered around Tommy Lee Jones and included the likes of Morgan Freeman. He was 46 years old in The Fugitive. You could told me he was 58 when he filmed the movie and I would believe you. The reasons for this are multitude, but it’s primarily because he had the misfortune of acting across from Harrison Ford; one of the most handsome movie stars we’ve had. When you already look old and you’re paired up with Han Solo, especially near his peak hotness (his peak hotness was around 1984-1989 if you were wondering), you’re unfortunately gonna look older than you are.
Tommy Lee Jones came out the winner of this movie though, considering he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor this year.
The Final Bullet Point
I just love Harrison Ford; simple as that. I’ve waxed poetic about him before on the blog and I will continue to do so as I watch more of his movies and rewatch his movies. He’s a national treasure.
That’s all I got.
Bonus: Great video on the making of this movie which was famously chaotic. Give it a watch during your lunch break.
Ranking of best hats Harrison Ford has worn in a movie:
Fedora (Indiana Jones)
This is the best hat in the history of pop culture. If you can give me a better option I’d love to hear it.
Bonus: Other types of hats Indy has worn during the series.
I couldn't find everything, but here are two iconic ones I remembered off the top fo my head.
Stormtrooper Helmet (Star Wars: A New Hope)
Han Solo is option 1B to Indiana Jones’ option 1A as Ford’s most iconic role, I’m counting this helmet as wearing a hat because it achieves the same purpose. Man, I love Star Wars. I’m ripe for a rewatch.
Cowboy Hat (American Graffiti)
This is one of Harrison Ford’s earliest movies, and therefore one of his earliest hat-wearing moments. He rocks the shit out of this cowboy hat.
Little Irish Hat (The Fugitive)
This hat may be goofy but it serves a very important purpose. That’s all I can say without spoiling the movie.
Do They Say the Title of the Movie In the Movie: I don’t believe they do. I watched this 6 months ago though, so don’t quote me on that.
*Editor’s Note: The author looked back and saw I took notes on this movie. This is what I wrote about the title: “They keep you guessing but they do say it.” So I can confirm it is said.*
Chance My Dad Cries While Watching This: 8%
No, But Really: What an awesome movie. I feel like it doesn’t have the same reach as other 90s action movies do with people nowadays, but it’s top-tier and one of the absolute best. The cast is stacked, and it catches Harrison Ford in the middle of his iconic run during the 80s and 90s as one of the biggest movie stars. Tommy Lee Jones is an awesome foil as well (he even won an Oscar). Everyone should watch this movie.
Waking Ned Devine (1998)
AKA: Living a life is like winning the lottery.
I just said this about The Fugitive, but sometimes you just want to watch a great movie. I've somehow convinced myself that watching this movie has become my Saint Patrick's Day tradition. There are only a couple issues with this proposition:
1. This movie is, in no way, a St. Patrick's Day movie. It actually takes place in August.
2. In fact, it's simply just an Irish movie, which makes me feel like picking it as my "Saint Patrick's Day" movie is racist in some way. Racist might be the wrong word, but you get my point.
3. The last time I watched this movie was in 2021.
Despite tracking everything I’ve watched for the last 7 years and having a website tracking everything along with (and a blog to add onto it) I didn't even realize I hadn't seen this movie in 4 years. But here's the thing: despite having not seen the movie in almost 4 years, the plot is etched in my brain. I love this movie and despite it technically not being a Saint Patrick's Day movie, I'm gonna watch it every year going forward because it's worth that distinction.
The funny thing about the last time I watched it was that it was during my time pledging my fraternity (we were conditioned to say fraternity so I physically can't call it a frat, sorry). I remember watching this movie during my freshman year because it was one of the rare free nights I had while pledging. A free night meant time to myself, which meant time for a movie, and since this night happened to be around Saint Patrick's Day, I chose to watch Waking Ned Devine.
The only movies I watched between then and May (when we finished pledging) were Four Weddings and Funeral and Spotlight. The reason I know this is because The Martian was the next movie I watched that year, and I’ll never forget the experience of watching that movie. There was a group of us freshmen who went to a senior's house one night after we finished pledging to watch a movie. We ended up landing on The Martian (I hadn't seen it at the time) and we had Four Lokos to go along with it.
Safe to say that it was a great movie night.
I really miss college sometimes.
The reason I adopted this as my Saint Patrick's Day movie is because I was never a big fan of Darby O'Gill and the Little People when I was growing up. I remember one time in middle school when my mom, dad, and sister watched that movie while we all stayed in a hotel one night and I attempted to watch my own thing on my computer. (If you weren't already aware, I was a loser when I was younger who thought doing stuff with my family was lame. Thank god that isn't the case anymore. I love you guys and you're my favorite people to do things with. Thanks for reading.)
To get back to my story, I knew I needed a Saint Patrick's Day movie. Most other holidays had one, and since I didn't like Darby O'Gill I had to find one that I liked. Thankfully, Waking Ned Devine was shown to me by my parents and I took it for myself.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day you filthy animals.
Best Movies for Every Major Holiday:
If I’m missing any please let me know. Holidays and movies alike.
New Year’s Day: Rudolph’s Shiny New Year
One of me and sister’s favorites. Absolutely iconic New Year’s Eve movie in a field where they are certainly lacking. You can’t call these children’s movies when a 23-year-old and a 22-year-old still watch them every year
Valentine’s Day: When Harry Met Sally
This has become a Valentine’s Day tradition for myself. You’ll be reading about it soon in the blog, but this was what I did to occupy myself on Valentine’s Day this year (and last). I’m gonna keep watching every year because it’s a perfect movie and because I love love. Sorry bout it.)
Saint Patrick’s Day: Darby O’Gill and the Little People (but actually Waking Ned Devine)
Despite it not being my favorite (and having not seen it in 15+ years) it’s impossible to deny that Darby O’Gill is the quintessential St. Patty’s Day movie. Sure, Waking Ned Devine is my personal choice, but you can go wrong with either (I’d pick Waking Ned Devine every day of the week).
Easter: The Life of Brian (or Rise of the Guardians)
Any movie that parodies the life of Jesus as well as Monty Python has a spot on this list forever. Both options are pretty perfect, but the song at the end of Life of Brian pushes it over Rise of the Guardians for me.
4th of July: Independence Day
Easy. Roll the speech!
Halloween: Halloween
Again, this was the easiest one. It’s literally in the name.
Thanksgiving: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (but also Planes, Trains, and Automobiles)
I had to include at least one Charlie Brown special on my list here. Planes, Trains certainly has a argument for the crown, but I had to honor my friend Charlie Brown for the consistency in my life.
Christmas: Die Hard, Gremlins, Home Alone, Elf, any Rankin-Bass special, etc. (too many to choose from)
Sorry, there are too many Christmas movies to pick from (at 2:00 am at night).
Do They Say the Title of the Movie In the Movie: They say Ned Devine a lot.
Chance My Dad Cries While Watching This: 97%
No, But Really: This movie is an absolute delight. I know most of you probably haven’t seen it (or heard of it) but it’s a perfect feel-good movie for any time of the year. I’ve started a tradition of watching it around St. Patrick’s Day because it’s such an Irish movie, but it’s applicable to any time of the year. You’ll laugh, you might cry, and you’ll leave this movie happy. Plus it’s sub-90 minutes long which is always nice.
-So much Guinness.
—St. Patrick’s Day is upon us.
—Chicago is much colder than LA.
—-This is March.
