500th Post... Happy Memorial Day!

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Sergeant William G. Fournier (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on January 10, 1943, at Mount Austen, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. His citation reads:

For gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. As leader of a machinegun section charged with the protection of other battalion units, his group was attacked by a superior number of Japanese, his gunner killed, his assistant gunner wounded, and an adjoining guncrew put out of action. Ordered to withdraw from this hazardous position, Sgt. Fournier refused to retire but rushed forward to the idle gun and, with the aid of another soldier who joined him, held up the machinegun by the tripod to increase its field action. They opened fire and inflicted heavy casualties upon the enemy. While so engaged both these gallant soldiers were killed, but their sturdy defensive was a decisive factor in the following success of the attacking battalion.

Private First Class James W. Fous (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 14, 1968, at Kien Hoa Province, Republic of Vietnam. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Fous distinguished himself at the risk of his life while serving as a rifleman with Company E. Pfc. Fous was participating in a reconnaissance-in-force mission when his unit formed its perimeter defense for the night. Pfc. Fous, together with 3 other American soldiers, occupied a position in a thickly vegetated area facing a woodline. Pfc. Fous detected 3 Viet Cong maneuvering toward his position and, after alerting the other men, directed accurate fire upon the enemy soldiers, silencing 2 of them. The third Viet Cong soldier managed to escape in the thick vegetation after throwing a hand grenade into Pfc. Fous' position. Without hesitation, Pfc. Fous shouted a warning to his comrades and leaped upon the lethal explosive, absorbing the blast with his body to save the lives of the 3 men in the area at the sacrifice of his life. Pfc. Fous' extraordinary heroism at the cost of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Second Lieutenant Frederick W. Fout (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on September 15, 1862, near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. His citation reads:

Voluntarily gathered the men of the battery together, remanned the guns, which had been ordered abandoned by an officer, opened fire, and kept up the same on the enemy until after the surrender.


Happy 500th post to all of my friends and family. It’s a big day around the I’m just sayin… offices. The Wife thought there was no way (NO WAY) this blog would be around for 500 posts… but thanks to your feedback, we’ve been able to keep it going and I, for one, think it’s better than ever.

Today I give you my Top 5 favorite movies. Like most of you, I ran into a little problem of having over 50 movies in my original Top 5. So the first step in coming up with this list was realizing I would not be able to include some great movies. And while these movies in my Top 5 are ranked pretty high on my list, they are not the Top 5 movies in the countdown. I think Red Dawn was ranked somewhere in the 200s… still, I can’t help but love a movie that shows a handful of American high school kids fighting (and beating) a bunch of invading Commie bastards. And people talk bad about our education system. HA! I could watch this movie all day. The other four speak for themselves. Still, I had to leave some great movies off of this Top 5. Anyway, here are my top 5 movies.

My Top 5 Movies

5. Red Dawn

4. Field of Dreams

3. The Godfather

2. Top Gun

1. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Now let’s start our look at movies 100-76…

The I’m just sayin… Top 2,613 Movies of All-Time Countdown

100 The Gods Must Be Crazy
Jamie Uys
N!xua, Sandra Prinsloo, Marius Weyers, Louw Verwey, Michael Thys
1980

99 Rebel Without a Cause
Nicholas Ray
James Dean, Natalie Wood
1955

98 Ocean's Eleven
Lewis Milestone
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop, Angie Dickinson, Richard Conte, Cesar Romero
1960
Jimmy Foster: "I made a cardinal rule: never to answer the 'phone in December".
Massuese: "That's crazy. Why?"
Jimmy Foster: "Because one December, every time I picked up the 'phone they sent me out into the snow to play with my friends. That was at the Bulge".

97 Schindler's List
Steven Spielberg
Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagall, Embeth Davidtz
1993

96 Trading Places
John Landis
Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy
1983
Louis Winthorpe III: "I had the most absurd nightmare. I was poor and no one liked me. I lost my job, I lost my house, Penelope hated me and it was all because of this terrible, awful Negro".


95 We Are Marshall
McG
Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Anthony Mackie
2006
Jack Lengyel: "For those of you who may not know, this is the final resting place for six members of the 1970 Thundering Herd. The plane crash that took their lives was so severe, so absolute, that their bodies were unable to be identified. So they were buried here. Together. Six players. Six teammates. Six Sons of Marshall. This is our past, gentlemen. This is where we have been. This is how we got here. This is who we are. Today, I want to talk about our opponent this afternoon. They're bigger, faster, stronger, more experienced and on paper, they're just better. And they know it too. But I want to tell you something that they don't know. They don't know your heart. I do. I've seen it. You have shown it to me. You have shown this coaching staff, your teammates. You have shown yourselves just exactly who you are in here".
[Thumps his chest]
Jack Lengyel: "When you take that field today, you've got to lay that heart on the line, men. From the souls of your feet, with every ounce of blood you've got in your body, lay it on the line until the final whistle blows. And if you do that, if you do that, we cannot lose. We may be behind on the scoreboard at the end of the game but if you play like that we cannot be defeated. Now we came here today to remember six young men and sixty-nine others who will not be on the field with you today, but they will be watching. You can bet your ass that they'll be gritting their teeth with every snap of that football. You understand me? How you play today, from this moment on is how you will be remembered. This is your opportunity to rise from these ashes and grab glory. We are..."
Young Thundering Herd: "Marshall!"
Jack Lengyel: "We are".
Young Thundering Herd: "Marshall!"
Jack Lengyel: "We are!"
Young Thundering Herd: "Marshall!"

94 The Jerk
Carl Reiner
Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters
1979
Navin R. Johnson: "Huh? I am *not* a bum. I'm a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: my friends, and... uh... my thermos. Huh? My story? Okay. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi..."

Navin R. Johnson: "For one dollar I'll guess your weight, your height, or your sex".

Navin R. Johnson: "Well I'm gonna to go then! And I don't need any of this. I don't need this stuff, and I don't need *you*. I don't need anything. Except this".
[picks up an ashtray]
Navin R. Johnson: "And that's the only thing I need is *this*. I don't need this or this. Just this ashtray... And this paddle game. - The ashtray and the paddle game and that's all I need... And this remote control. - The ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that's all I need... And these matches. - The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control, and the paddle ball... And this lamp. - The ashtray, this paddle game, and the remote control, and the lamp, and that's all *I* need. And that's *all* I need too. I don't need one other thing, not one... I need this. - The paddle game and the chair, and the remote control, and the matches for sure. Well what are you looking at? What do you think I'm some kind of a jerk or something! - And this. That's all I need".
[walking outside]
Navin R. Johnson: "The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, and this magazine, and the chair".
Navin R. Johnson: [outside now] "And I don't need one other thing, except my dog".
[Shithead growls at him]
Navin R. Johnson: "I don't need my dog".

93 Scarface
Brian De Palma
Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia
1983
Tony Montana: "Say hello to my little friend!"

92 Hoosiers
David Anspaugh
Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper, Sheb Wooley
1986
Coach Norman Dale: "My practices aren't designed for your enjoyment".

Coach Norman Dale: "If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, in my book we're gonna be winners".

91 Miracle on 34th Street
George Seaton
Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood
1947
Kris Kringle: "Now wait a minute, Susie. Just because every child can't get his wish that doesn't mean there isn't a Santa Claus".

90 Predator
John McTiernan
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura
1987

89 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Stanley Kramer
Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Houghton, Beah Richards
1967

88 Alien
Ridley Scott
Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, Veronica Cartwright, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto
1979

87 Beauty and the Beast
Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Robby Benson, Paige O'Hara, Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury (voices)
1991

86 Apollo 13
Ron Howard
Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan
1995
Jim Lovell: "Houston, we have a problem".

Gene Kranz: "Failure is not an option".

NASA Director: "This could be the worst disaster NASA's ever faced".
Gene Kranz: "With all due respect, sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour".

85 Driving Miss Daisy
Bruce Beresford
Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Esther Rolle, Patti LuPone
1989

84 Kicking & Screaming
Jesse Dylan
Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall
2005
Phil Weston: "Hey, I almost had you!"
Buck Weston: "What do you call that again, when you almost win? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah... Losing!"

Referee: "Where do I know you from?"
Phil Weston: "I've been your neighbor for the last seven years!"
Referee: "No, that ain't it".
Phil Weston: "That's definitely it!"
Referee: "I'll figure it out".

Buck Weston: "You know how hard it's been for me ever since your mom died".
Phil Weston: "She didn't die! She divorced you!"
Buck Weston: "Ehh... tomatoes, tomahtoes".

83 Robin and the 7 Hoods
Gordon Douglas
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr.
1964

82 The A-Team
Joe Carnahan
Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bloom
2010
Col. John 'Hannibal' Smith: "I love it when a plan comes together".

81 What a Way to Go!
J. Lee Thompson
Shirley MacLaine, Dean Martin, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Robert Cummings, Dick Van Dyke, Gene Kelly
1964

80 The Terminator
James Cameron
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton
1984
The Terminator: "I'll be back!"

79 Dr. No
Terence Young
Sean Connery
1962
James Bond: "Bond, James Bond"

78 The Bridge on the River Kwai
David Lean
William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness, Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald, Geoffrey Horne
1957

77 12 Angry Men
William Friedkin
Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, James Gandolfini, Ossie Davis, William Petersen, Hume Cronyn, Edward James Olmos, Tony Danza, Mykelti Williamson, Armin Mueller-Stahl
1997

76 A Nightmare on Elm Street
Wes Craven
Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp
1984


The I’m just sayin… Weekly Weigh-In

Greg 232

Mary Ruth 48

Susie 26

Daniel 26