Movie Poems 2

By John Thomas James

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781796079067

John Thomas James

John Thomas James was born in 1970 in Hartford, Connecticut. A published poet for 25 years, his work has appeared in publications such as The Iconoclast, South Ash Press, and Insomnia and Poetry. A collection of poems entitled The Progress of Later was published by Xlibris Press in 2011. He currently resides in the Nutmeg State with two cats named Sammy and Charlie.

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Copyright © 2020 by John Thomas James.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

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system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author

and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and

the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 01/21/2019

Xlibris

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CONTENTS

GAME NIGHT

CREED 2

ABOUT TIME

A CHUMP AT OXFORD

RUN OF THE ARROW

ESPIONAGE AGENT

RED LIGHT

EVER SINCE EVE

THE SOUND AND THE FURY

VANESSA, HER LOVE STORY

THE COMEDIAN

NIGHT PEOPLE

DAY OF THE OUTLAW

THE STAR OF MIDNIGHT

OVER THE MOON

THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN

THE SHEEPMAN

THE VANISHING VIRGINIAN

EL

SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR

QUANTEZ

MAN IN THE ATTIC

HOSTILE WITNESS

A MAN ALONE

BORDERLINE

THE BARONESS AND THE BUTLER

DEATH WISH (2018)

JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES BACK

AQUAMAN

CALIFORNIA

TIP ON A DEAD JOCKEY

DAY OF THE BADMAN

GUN FOR A COWARD

THE MAD MISS MANTON

THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET (1957)

SHE

KRAMER VS. KRAMER

ORDINARY PEOPLE

THE REMAINS OF THE DAY

THE CROWD ROARS (1938)

MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE

HITLER: THE LAST TEN DAYS

THE FRONT RUNNER

MANNEQUIN 2: ON THE MOVE

NEW YORK MINUTE

SECRET HONOR

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL

MY DINNER WITH ANDRE

SPARTACUS

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

THE NIGHT VISITOR

LET IT BE

JOE

HAPPINESS

YOUNG MAN WITH IDEAS

THE RULING CLASS

GOODFELLAS

WITNESS

VERTIGO

THE BROWNING VERSION (1951)

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

PINK FLOYD THE WALL

MASH

MANY RIVERS TO CROSS

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (1967)

THE INVENTOR: OUT FOR

BLOOD IN SILICON VALLEY

THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS

THE HEARTBREAK KID (1972)

BANANAS

CLASS OF 1984

THE WORLD’S GREATEST ATHLETE

WAR AND PEACE (1966)

WESTWARD THE WOMEN

STAN AND OLLIE

THE STAR CHAMBER

HEAVEN CAN WAIT (1978)

DELIRIOUS

CITY SLICKERS

SUBMISSION

SWITCH

IDIOT’S DELIGHT

BILL COSBY: HIMSELF

MOMMIE DEAREST

TOYS

DAY OF THE JACKAL

DIRTY HARRY

PATTON

STRAW DOGS

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY

I LOVE YOU, ALICE B TOKLAS

IDIOCRACY

CASABLANCA

THE WILD BUNCH

THE GODFATHER

RAMPAGE (2018)

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT

THE NUN

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR

SUPER TROOPERS 2

THE PREDATOR

VICE

BIRD BOX

THE SISTERS BROTHERS

WIDOWS

THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN

WRATH OF THE TITANS

WANDERLUST

SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD

IRON MAN

SAVAGES

TED

THE IMPOSSIBLE

HYDE PARK ON HUDSON

PATCH ADAMS

MEET JOE BLACK

GODZILLA (1998)

HALLOWEEN H20

YOU’VE GOT MAIL

THE LONE RANGER

WORLD WAR Z

V/H/S

A LATE QUARTET

HER

BASEKETBALL

SURROGATES

COLD SOULS

G.I. JOE: RISE OF COBRA

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT

RED DAWN (1984)

LIFE STINKS

TOP GUN (1955)

THE EXORCIST

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME

PRIMARY COLORS

AARDVARK

THE BEAVER

AUTOFOCUS

THE CHINA SYNDROME

THE CHAMP (1979)

DEAD MEN DON’T WEAR PLAID

UNTAMED FRONTIER

BUCKET LIST

AD ASTRA

REVENGE OF THE NERDS

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND

THE LONGEST YARD

COBB

REGARDING HENRY

RENO 9/11 MIAMI

THE TOY

ARACHNOPHOBIA

CONVOY

SGT PEPPER’S LONELY- HEARTS CLUB BAND

STARMAN

SPLASH

STAR WARS EPISODE 4: A NEW HOPE

AMERICAN GRAFFITI

ROBIN WILLIAMS: COME INSIDE MY MIND

2012

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS

THE WRECKING CREW

YES MAN

IN A WORLD…

GRUDGE MATCH

THE BIG YEAR

BOB ROBERTS

PAWN

BAD WORDS

DAVE

THIRTEEN DAYS

Part 2. Or Segue 1

1   IN A GLASS

2   I CAN’T MAKE THE REASONS SEEM REAL

3   HELEN

4   THE PROBLEM OF MONEY

5   THE BIG CHAIR

6   THE PAWN SHOP

7   COUNTING ON ME

8   IT’S NOT ME

9   WHY DO THEY MAKE SUCH A FUSS?

GAME NIGHT

We all know hyper-competitive people

who tick off notable achievements

with an infuriating regularity

and aspire to such absurdities

as crossing Antarctica on their knees,

or being the first on the block

to reach all 50 states on a unicycle.

And they call us all couch potatoes

for not going for the glory gusto;

grading by the shine on our sportscar,

diplomas on the office wall,

chapter and verse of sexual conquest.

These type-A achievers

also play board games

with their family and friends—

and they play them competitively

while everyone else is having fun.

Monopoly becomes an orgy of acquisition

strewn with houses, hotels and Community Chest cards.

Candyland is a glue factory on Gumdrop Mountain.

Mastermind is like a crucible

of algorithms and probability scenarios.

The game of Life is a combat cudgel

disguised as mere metaphor.

I hate playing games

with these uptight bullies.

Give me a deck of cards

and I’ll slap out some solitaire.

CREED 2

These Rocky movies

always seem to hinge

on the manner and method

of training for the big fight.

The more unorthodox the regimen

(remember Mickey making him chase chickens

down a back alley in Rocky II?),

the better chance you have of winning.

Apparently, one shouldn’t train properly

in a fully-staffed and well-ventilated gymnasium

with your trainer and cut man nearby

to answer any technical boxing questions;

and never have a big entourage

hanging around, looking bored,

lest you be entrapped into complacency

the way Apollo Creed was in the first film.

The best plan is to find extreme conditions

(Russian winter, desert heat, Los Angeles ghetto)

and then pick a heavy tool not used in pugilism

(a sledgehammer or ax will suffice)

and go off alone to pound the sand,

or chop a huge amount of wood,

or carry insanely heavy ice blocks

in order to prove you’re really in shape.

That’s obviously the best way to win prizefights.

ABOUT TIME

Forget the time travel twaddle

and see it as a celebration

of family and familial bonds

that span time immemorial.

That kind of eccentric Cornish family

every American Anglophile adores

and envies for their idyllic lifestyle

(not to mention implied inherited wealth)

which allows them license

to hold picnics on the beach

full of frivolity and frolicking

and whimsy and dressing up;

and there’s an oddball uncle

and a too-sensitive sister

(most accurately described as kooky)

that make you feel so welcomed

inside this unconventional estate

where everyone cares and nurtures

the needs of one another.

We look upon these quirky ensembles

with a kind of wistful longing

(I Capture the Castle and The Royal Tenenbaums

also resonate in this manner)

because ours are either shattered

by strife between the spouses,

are cold like some transactional enterprise,

or are just lacking in something

that movie magic could make right.

A CHUMP AT OXFORD

The guys are street sweepers

literally having their lunch

with two feet in the gutter,

when it dawns on Ollie

that they don’t know anything,

so it’s time to get an education;

and instead of poo-pooing the notion

by pointing out the impracticalities,

Stan wholeheartedly agrees.

I love how it’s that simple.

No doubt.

No fuss.

No trepidation about student loan debt.

Not even the noxious modern idea

of specialization on one subject.

No, they want to get EDUCATED

about everything

and anything

and this simplicity is essential

to their enduring appeal,

even if the way it plays out in England

crosses the border into tedium;

complete with a silly personality change

that extracted the laughs with tongs.

RUN OF THE ARROW

Even if one has genuine admiration

for the maniacally respectful way

Rod Steiger ingratiates himself

to the Sioux Nation offshoot

by adhering to all traditions

and dedicating himself to a