Contest #53: Freestyle Movie Writing!

[admin]

The best post as chosen by A1Supplements.com answering the following question will win a $100 Gift Certificate for FREE Supplements! Second prize will be awarded a $50 gift certificate and third prize winner will be awarded a $25 gift certificate.

Write about your favorite movie, tell us why it's the best movie ever and admit to the number of times you have seen it.

*We will be cross-referencing all articles in a thorough effort to stop and punish plagiarism. If your piece has been plagiarized your user account will be banned and you will be immediately disqualified from the competition.

Please remember to reference works cited (if any) and DO NOT PLAGIARIZE.

Contest officially closes on: Nov. 11, 2009 (11:59 PM EST) and posts will be judged and voted upon thereafter. Good luck!

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Please post your response to the contest question in this thread by using the "Post Reply" button.

Complete Contest Rules - click here. (500 word min.)

[bigcoachk]

This is a no brainer to me and for thousands of other avid lifters. Pumping Iron starring Arnold "The Oak" Swartzneggar and Lou Ferrigno is the best and all time favorite movie for me. There are many reasons why I love this movie. A lot of people to not understand this movie and why it is so important to us hardcore bodybuilding fans. This movie is more than just about a bunch of dumb meatheads lifting weights. This movie was the first real look into the culture of bodybuilding. Every character in the movie presents a role and captures the viewers attention. You had people like Mike Katz who used bodybuilding as a means of showing those who gave him a hard time growing his capabilities. Ken Waller as the arch nemisis of Mike Katz is a prankster and trash talker. The two main characters that go head to head in the competition show there competitive side and show what they will do to be the best. Arnold shows the world that bodybuilders are like anyone else. They are smart, polite people who enjoy not being in the norm. The movie shows the outside world what dedication really is. I can remember the first time I watched "Pumping Iron", it was my summer before my senior year in high school and I had just started lifting weights. One of the workers there popped it into a vcr and I happened to catch a sight of it and I sat there with him and watched the whole thing, talk about motivation for lifting that evening. Then when I went on to college I had gotten my own copy. No other person there had seen it so I had to show it to everyone. They loved it. I dont know how many times me and my roommat would get hammered....(not condoning that now just college ) and watch it. I would say I have watched the movie over 150 times atleast. I was in college for 4.5 years so I can say that is feasible. The main reason I love this movie so much is because it inspired me not just to lift weights but to make it a lifestyle and a way of living.

[rustylhci]

I have a lot of movies on the shelves these days. The one I have grabbed over and over is Vision Quest. I have watched the dvd so many times when I am down and out or am looking to get good vibes to start on some new routine I feel will help in the quest of the life and body I am trying to build.

There are a few movies like the Rocky sagas or the great football movies out there that really pump your spirits while pumping your blood at the same time. It has a soundtrack that is heard throughout the movie with the workout or surreal moment of triumph in the movies we love to watch and know are coming with a great song to go with those moments. For me the one movie with a great story and soundtrack that stood out the most was Vision Quest. It is a story of a wrestler named Louden Swain. Louden is a wrestler with a goal of wrestling the states best wrestler named Shute. Shute is a physical specimen and is the guy in town who is the notorious tough guy and along with his myth he is seen by all as being “the man”. Shute is the one who everyone talks about and all the stories are blown out of proportion and he is said to be unbeatable. Lauden is trying to make weight and refuses to eat because he is trying to drop down from his 190 lb weight class in wrestling to 168 lbs. in a few weeks and is set on wrestling Shute who is the state champion. The team is against him doing this and his dad and a girl living with them are the only one’s that are by his side. There is one wrestler on his team, Kuch, who is intrigued that Lauden is seeking out to wrestle a monster as he puts it. Kuch is impressed by his dedication and has a talk with the spirit gods and tells Laudin he is on a vision quest. Lauden is trying to achieve his goal with commitment and perseverance. He faces a goal and knows there is a time limit on reaching that goal. Metaphorically Lauden see’s life in a nutshell that it’s short and the goals he seeks out will only come around once and he might just let the time run out before he can achieve them. He also figures out not many people stick with what they want in life and give up. Lauden knows that his time is now and only comes once in a lifetime. It’s a story of a kid becoming a man and how everyone must look in the mirror and decide if they can do what it takes to reach their dreams. It has all the elements of a great guy movie showing training and working out, girls, and comradery. It has a lot of wrestling which I never have done but enjoy watching MMA where it has a lot of wrestling and grappling moves and is a one on one sport. The movie shows what it takes to commit to make weight and the courage of facing the best opponent. The movie is inspirational, especially due to the fact Lauden is not as built as Shute and is prepared to push his training by doing push ups during slow times at work and waking up early to run and refusing to walk to get anywhere to make himself fit enough to compete. The music completes this movie with a great soundtrack. The songs “Only the Young” by Journey and “Lunatic Fringe” by Red Rider are on the top of my Ipod workout songs. I feel it is imperative that all young athletes watch this movie to know that there is a small window for competitive sports and how a kid in high school is just starting in life, but they are made in high school and by the time you get out you have set your path without knowing it. It was kind of a shot in the stomach for me watching it for the first time at the age of 22 and knowing that my path in sports was predetermined before even graduating high school. The movie shows you have one shot and you either take it then or wait til it’s too late.

In bodybuilding, there is no time frame on your success. It is a lifelong journey. Vision Quest symbolizes for me of why I started working out in the first place. I loved baseball and always wanted to be the best at it. I worked out to help my game and unlike Lauden I didn’t face it the way he did and see it all the way through. I did discover another vision quest and that is working out and I like it just as much. I appreciate Lauden’s drive and desire to become great for just one moment in his life. It is great to watch a success story and to see someone succeed in their dreams. Watching this movie could be a life changer or a reminder that we all are on a vision quest in some way or another. It asks the question are we prepared to do what it takes. I have thrown the movie on to watch a few scenes and get pumped before a workout or just to get my spirits up, so I might have watched the movie 1,000 times and will probably watch it a 1,000 more.

[Travis28]

I believe this week's question is meant to include all movies, not just fitness or bodybuilding related.

[kyled7]

I was turned on to a movie, which eventually became my favorite, simply because it starred the late Chris Farley. One of my favorite actors brought in this, probably his least known movie, provides a ton laughs. I believe Farley was someone you couldn’t help but laugh with/at simply by the nature of person he was and his sketch humor that appealed to many people throughout different backgrounds, age, ethnicity, etc.

Almost Heroes, starring Farley and Matthew Perry, was the untold quest to find the Pacific. Battling head-to-head with Lewis and Clark, Farley, Perry and a group of misfits battle weather, conquistadors, and their own naiveness to become the first to make the trudge west and hit the Pacific Ocean. On their way, they battle up the Mississippi, over the Rockies and overcome battles from animal and people alike to edge out Lewis and Clark to be the first ones to set foot on the Pacific Coast.

I believe Farley’s high energy character combined with his open personality and the fact he played a raging binge drinker added to the overall comedic nature of this film. One of the best parts of the film was when Farley took on 8-10 conquistadors in a battle. The weapon of choice??? Drinking! LOL, the next scene was Farley and the leader of the opposition barely awake alternating drinks before Farley’s opposition passed out, wide spanning to the other 8-10 guys already laying passed out on the ground.

Great, underrated movie and a must see for any comedy fan, especially those that liked Farley’s humor. I would guess I’ve seen this movie over 20 times easily and have used it as a sleep aid on many occasions.

[r17ytsirc]

Over The Top with Sylvester Stallone is the BEST MOVIE EVER! I LOVE this movie.

Sylvester Stallone plays a character called Lincoln Hawk. His wife is sick and on the verge of having heart surgery and advises him to spend time with his son whom he had abandoned as a child. Lincoln Hawk then picks up their son Michael from military school so they may get to know each other better. When his son first meets him he doesn't think very highly of him considering his dad had left him and his mother behind many years earlier and his grandfather had told him many many lies about Lincoln Hawk. They drive in this semi truck for days to go to the hospital to see his dying mother across the country. On the course of their trip they begin to build a loving relationship with each other. His son watches Lincoln Hawk (Sylvester Stallone) win an arm wrestling match at a diner and is very proud of his father. Lincoln Hawk and Michael work out together and practice arm wrestling while they are on the road. Lincoln Hawk teaches his son how important is is for him to believe in himself and challenges him to arm wrestle an older bigger kid. Michael loosed the first match but then continues to win 2 out of 3. The older bigger kid is in shock that he lost to Michael.

Michaels mother ends up dying during surgery before they were able to make it to the hospital and Michael runs away back to his grandfather's estate. Michael eventually learns that his grandfather had been hiding the truth about his father, Lincoln Hawk, for the past few years. He finds letters and cards that his grandfather had hidden from him that his dad had been mailing to him thought the years.

Lincoln then goes to Las Vegas for an Arm Wrestling Championship and hopes to win the grand prize of a expensive new semi truck. He had to sell his old one and this was his last option to open his own trucking business. Mike, then goes to Las Vegas to find his father. He wants to be there to support him and offer encouragement during his competition.

Lincoln Hawk goes on to win the championship and the love or his son as well.

This is a great movie and I advise anyone and everyone to watch it. You won’t be disappointed. It’s a great story line and you see the funny things all the arm wrestling contestants say and do before their match. It’s hilarious. Some guys slap their faces, or yell, turn their caps backwards… funny stuff. I especially love when they are interviewing the top 5 contestants before the finals and the previous champion says “Being number one is everything, there is no second place. Second sucks.” Haha

The soundtrack is great as well. The main song is called “Winner takes it all” by Sammy Hagar. Great Song to work out to by the way!

As far as how many times I’ve watched this movie… I just watched this movie about 4 times last night, so you can imagine how many times I’ve watched it my entire life. Probably over a hundred times… no joke!

[eixtc]

Write about your favorite movie, tell us why it's the best movie ever and admit to the number of times you have seen it.


Currently, my favorite movie is Happy Gilmore. It's not the best movie ever, IMO, but it's a great movie. That being said, I would say I've seen it about 15 times; and out of all those 15 times, I've laughed just as hard every time.

I love comedy movies -- movies that can make you LOL (literally). Action movies, drama, horror are all good but they don't illicit that happy and 'giggly' feeling you get when you watch a great comedy.

In Happy Gilmore, there's the typical good guy, bad guy story line. Happy Gilmore is an aspiring hockey player who just can't make it in the leagues. One day, he's preparing for the pain he'll experience during the hockey season by going into a batting cage and having himself get hit by fast balls to get used to the beating. A golf pro sees that and asks him what the hell are you doing!? Anyway, he gets Happy to try golf and sees his amazing power in hitting the ball. The golf pro trains him to get ready for the Tour (a golf league).

The bad guy in this story line is the supposedly number one ranked player, Shooter McGavin. He pranks Happy the first time he meets him by telling him to meet him and some guys at the 9th hole at night. Unfortunately for Happy, that's when the sprinklers go off and he gets soaked in his suit. I guess the plot in this story would be how Happy's grandma is about to lose the house that Happy's grandpa built because of lack of payment. As Happy's about to buy the house back with winning he makes on the Tour, Shooter's bought the house already. They end up battling it out on the final tournament of the Tour's season and Happy ends up winning by 1 with a miraculous shot that bounces on a sign, goes down a maze like gutter, and more. Happy ends up getting the house back and all is well within the Gilmore family.

My favorite scene that cracks me up every time I watch it is when the golf pro takes Happy to a mini putt golf course to practice. Because despite having such a powerful swing to drive the ball, he's horrible at putting. They reach a hole where he has to putt it into a clowns mouth which opens and closes. After each missed attempt, the clown replies with a insulting joke and laughs at Happy (he also has a temper problem). After maybe about 5 tries, he finally gets it in and starts to celebrate. However, shortly after, the clown spits the ball back out and starts his diabolical laugh that tips Happy over the edge. Happy loses his cool and then beats the electronics out of the clown. You just have to see it to see the reactions of the clown and Happy. It's just hilarious!

Comedy movies are great for making you feel a lot better and making you feel more happy, at least for me. Happy Gilmore probably will be bumped from the "My favorite" soon (I'm a movie junkie and try to go at least once a week) but until then, I will enjoy the laughs from it.

[B3NNY0]

I have posted to the last 2 contests, but they did not show up on the message board. Is there something I am posting incorrectly?

Thanks

[A1Nick]

I'm sorry to hear that. Have you posted for this contest?

[B3NNY0]

I did, not a big deal, just wondering for future posts.

Thanks