Tonight's marathon is centered around the theme of a bromance being shared between two individuals whether it's a human being, a whale, two men who are crime fighters, a Vulcan, or two young boys caught up in the darkest moments of World War ll. Through these story arcs, we witness some of the greatest friendships in cinematic history between two guys that run thicker than blood. This marathon was not only designed to be a fun and exciting experience but also a moving one, touching on some of the basic traits of a beautiful friendship. One of the main questions that arises through this lineup of movies is how far would you go for a friend? Tonight's marathon is an attempt to answer that question. We have on our menu for this evening:
Free Willy 1993, Toy Story 1995, Batman Forever 1995 Star Trek Into Darkness 2013, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas 2008
As this marathon shows, there is no greater love than two friends who are willing to stick by each other's side, fight together, and ultimately give one's life for the other. That in itself is one of life's great miracles. The first movie of the evening is the 90's classic Free Willy centering around a troubled young boy named Jesse who befriends a young killer whale named Willy. Once the boy learns that the owners of the aquarium are plotting to have the young whale killed, Jesse puts everything on the line to save Willy with the help of his new foster parents. Jesse James Ritcher gives a memorable and heartfelt performance as Jesse, the troubled turn heroic young boy who shares a bromance with a killer whale, and is assisted by a strong supporting cast of Michael Madsen, Michael Ironside, Jane, Atkinson, and August Schellenberg. With Free Willy being the film that starts off the theme of a bromance between a boy and his whale, it's only logical that the perfect follow up would be a family friendly film that carries a similar style to the story arc. The 1995 animated classic Toy Story centers around two young toys named Woody and Buzz who are forced into working together to survive the clutches of a ruthless kid named Sid who enjoys destroying toys for fun. The bromance in Toy Story is stronger because Woody begins the film as being Andy's favorite toy and ends up becoming incredibly jealous of Buzz when he shows up and steals Woody's spot as being the number one toy. Desperate and jealous, Woody tries to get rid of Buzz but quickly ends up regretting his decision when the other toys exile Woody. Toy Story instead of having one friend trying to help the other has two friends working together to have each others backs in a time of need. The first Toy Story remains a benchmark for Pixar and spawned two sequels of equal brilliance and critical acclaim, making it one of the greatest animated trilogies to ever grace the screen. The third movie in the marathon is the misunderstood Joel Schumacher blockbuster Batman Forever. Taking over the reigns from Tim Burton after Batman Returns opened to less critical praise than Batman 1989 and complaints that the Batman movies have become too dark for kids, Schumacher chose to lighten up the scenery with more flashy colors in the background and giving Batman a sidekick that had young teenage boys fantasizing about teaming up with the caped crusader. Nominated for three academy awards, Batman Forever centers around the dark knight battling two classical villains named Two Face and Riddler, while trying to stray a younger man named Dick Grayson from going down a similar path that Batman/Bruce Wayne took. Batman Forever takes the theme of friendship, courage, bromance, teamwork, and puts them all together into this film with both the heroes and the villains sharing a unique friendship. Some of the films most powerful moments are when Batman and Robin end up rescuing each other from certain death. The fourth movie of the night takes the bromance even further with Star Trek Into Darkness, this time focusing on the friendship between a human named Kirk and a Vulcan named Spock. Their friendship is ultimately tested when they come across a powerful new villain named Khan, whose powers represents a one man weapon of mass destruction. The friendship theme runs rampant throughout this film with Kirk saving Spock's life much to his reluctance, and Kirk consistently asking Spock if he knows why he saved him. Into Darkness is the film that also introduces the theme of self sacrifice as Kirk makes a decision in the latter part of the film that saves the entire Enterprise crew, and makes Spock finally understand the meaning of the word friendship. The fifth and final movie of the evening centers around two young boys on the opposite side of a fence during mid World War ll. The film Boy in the Striped Pajamas centers around a young German boy of a Nazi officer befriending a young Jewish boy imprisoned in a death camp on opposite sides of the fence. Whereas society discriminates against the Jewish population, the two boys form a friendship in the ultimate act of defiance, and make the ultimate sacrifice in standing by each others side.
So what are these movies trying to say? Free Willy asks the question of how far would you go for a friend? Toy Story says that friends should never be jealous of another and should work together and stick by each others side no matter what. Being different should never determine the outcome of a friendship. Batman Forever says that courage and friendship can go a long way in working together to fight the forces of evil. Star Trek Into Darkness says that a brotherly love can mean that one selflessly gives his life for the other. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas final message is that no one can break the bond of two friends who will always stand by each others side.
Our characters for this evening:
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