Movie #417 - The Lion King

The Lion King
1994 - Rated G - 1 hr 29 min
Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Starring: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Jeremy Irons, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Moira Kelly, Cheech Marin, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Who doesn't love this movie? And who hasn't -- at some point -- quoted those iconic lines? "Everything the light touches..." "The king has returned..." "Hakuna Matata..."

Really, this one's so ingrained in my generation's childhood, it's hard to escape.  And now that it's a Broadway musical, everyone else loves it too.  It's easy to see why, with such a gripping story of deceipt that even adults can love, the kind of jokes that get mom, dad, and the kids all laughing, and some of the best songs Disney ever churned out of their powerhouse years.  This puts the cap on Disney's golden age for me.  I'll watch it over and over and over again.  Anytime Ellie asks.

Movie #162 - Die Hard: With a Vengeance

Die Hard: With a Vengeance
1995 - Rated R - 2 hr 11 min
Director: John McTiernan
Starring: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson

With the director from the first one back in charge, this movie franchise gets back on track.  This is my favorite of the Die Hard movies and, even though they resisted the urge to call it Die Hardest, I still like the title.

Brotherly revenge is a vicious thing and Jeremy Irons carries the villain role well throughout the film... even if the movie is a bit longer than it needs to be. Seriously, McLane is the original Jack Bauer and he goes through about as much in this movie as Keifer Sutherland does in an entire season of 24. And you know, in the face of a crisis, either one of those guys would save the day.

And did I mention how much I love Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson's pairing in this movie? The racist comments are priceless from Jackson and they bicker like an old married couple half the time.  It keeps this adrenaline-heavy movie from becoming too much to handle.  You know, you need something to break up the explosions, car crashes, and shoot outs.  It might as well be something entertaining.

I've got a while until I get to Live Free or Die Hard (which I haven't seen yet), so it's nice to leave John McLane on a high note.  See you in the L's, John.