The Lion King (1994)

#2 - 1994 Box Office: Gross $312,855,561

Life's greatest adventure is finding your place in the Circle of Life

"Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba." And with this Zulu chant, our film opens as every animal across the African plains comes to Pride Rock to witness the birth of Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), son of the current king and queen Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Sarabi (Madge Sinclair).  Every animal is overjoyed by this addition to their circle of life except for Mufasa's brother, Scar (Jeremy Irons), since the birth of his nephew dashes any hopes he had of gaining control of the kingdom. In a scheme that feels somewhat Shakespearean, Scar uses his hyena minions to create a wildebeest stampede to kill Simba and Mufasa, leaving the kingdom (and Sarabi) in his hands.  Simba, however, wasn't killed in the stampede but is driven out of the Pride Lands where he grows up (now voiced by Matthew Broderick) among new friends Timon and Pumbaa (a meerkat and warthog voiced by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, respectively).  Scar's reign nearly destroys the Pride Lands while Simba lives with "No Worries" on the edge of the kingdom.  Will the pleas of childhood friends and a message-in-the-stars from his father's spirit be enough to convince Simba to return home and take back his kingdom?

Iron Man (2008)

#2 - 2008 Box Office: Gross $318,412,101

Heroes aren't born. They're built.

Jon Favreau directs this comic book adaptation which opens with billionaire and weapons engineer Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) demonstrating his company's shocking and awesome new Jericho Missile in Afghanistan.  As he and best friend James Rhodes (Terrence Howard) travel away from the demonstration, Stark's vehicle is attacked with his own technology, leaving him near death (as Rhodes escapes unharmed).  Stark awakens to find he's being held by terrorists who want him to build them their very own Jericho Missile.  His fellow captor has implanted an electromagnet into Stark's chest to keep the shrapnel from destroying his heart, and soon the two secretly build a suit in which Stark can escape.  Back home in his mansion, he's able to fine tune his heart magnet and perfect his suit with some help from assistant and sometimes love interest Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).  Stark begins to dissolve his father's company having found out his weapons are being sold to both sides of almost every war, but his father's business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges with some of the most evil hair I've ever seen) wants to continue the business as is.  Meanwhile, the Afghan terrorists are trying to reverse engineer the destroyed suit they found in the desert which Stark left behind after he escaped.  Will self-centered Stark have a change in heart regarding his role in his father's company?  Will he be able to keep his ego in check with his new found identity?  Who will win the final battle of Iron Man vs iron man?

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

#1 - 1984 Box Office: Gross $234,760,478

He's been chased, thrown through a window, and arrested.

Eddie Murphy is a Detroit cop on vacation in Beverly Hills.

Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is a Detroit detective who often plays by his own rules, which does not put him in good standing with his boss.  And so, after an old friend visits Axel and is killed right in front of him, Axel isn't allowed to investigate.  Knowing his friend had spent the past six months in California, Axel decides to go on a (semi-forced) vacation to see if he can determine why his friend was killed.  After a little sleuthing, he finds out local art dealer Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff) isn't all he seems, but local police have their hands tied since cops go by the book in Beverly Hills.  Sgt. Taggart (John Ashton) & Det. Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) are assigned to watch Axel, who often gives them the slip and eventually convinces them, that while his methods are unorthodox, they get results.  The three work together in an attempt to get to the bottom of a conspiracy involving drugs and murder, all the while avoiding any Beverly Hills police who are still upset at Axel's techniques.

Want to see the newest Walkman technology?

So a friend of mine runs this running blog and apparently he's more important than I ever knew!  Sony contacted him to get him to review their new Walkman and he wrote up a blog about them.

It's pretty interesting to read and if you exercise, you might want to check out his blog to see this new music player (no more annoying arm bands!).

Beyond just spreading the news about this new player, he has TWO of them he's just giving away.  So, spread the news (or don't if you want to better your odds) and GLWACOY.

Since this is a movie blog, I figure I should have some Walkman movie connection:

Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where, uh, Phil Collins's presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Christy, take off your robe. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins, and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. Sabrina, remove your dress. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Sabrina, why don't you, uh, dance a little. Take the lyrics to "Land of Confusion". In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. "In Too Deep" is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as, uh, anything I've heard in rock. Christy, get down on your knees so Sabrina can see your ass. Phil Collins's solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like "In the Air Tonight" and, uh, "Against All Odds". Sabrina, don't just stare at it, eat it. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word "artist." This is "Sussudio", a great, great song, a personal favorite.