Movie Characters.

In a previous entry, I talked briefly about the idea that I went through my movie and book collections and had to figure out what it was I loved about the characters.  I’m going to give you a list of some of the characters I love, male and female.  I’ll leave the reading into it to you.

Men

1.  AJ in Empire Records.  This guy is the quintessential closet romantic.  Of course, he gets the girl, which helps.  He’s so money, and he doesn’t even know it.

2.  Maximus in Gladiator.  Can’t say enough about this character.  Resolve, perserverance, bravery.  Witty rhetoric. 

3.  William Wallace in Braveheart.  Principled, brave, fiercely private, the guy’s a wall.  And he’s willing to lay it all down, and does.

4.  Det. John Hobbes in Fallen.  Same deal, but only fighting a foe he can’t see.  The psychological aspect of this guy is unbelievable.  Again, resolved.

5.  Jason Bourne, in Bourne Identity.  Trying to figure out your own identity while fighting off genetically altered hitmen who are trying to kill you.  Sure, I’ll bite.

6.  Rob Gordon, in High Fidelity.  Deliciously tortured. Tendencies that are so much like mine only those who have lived with me could ever fully understand.

7.  Wyatt Earp, in Tombstone.  Hard as a rock.  Tough as nails.  And completely helpless when it comes to the women folk…sound familiar?

8.  Simon Templar, in The Saint.  I don’t want to talk too much about this character, but I’ll say this:  When you’re a chameleon, the most dangerous thing in the world is someone who knows you change colors.

9.  Wesley, in the Princess Bride.  There is no equal in witty reparte to this guy.  Plus, sword fighting, which I will learn to do one day, perhaps very soon.

10.  Jonathan Trager, in Serendipity.  This is a real guy, in every way.  Walks the responsible road to as far as it goes, and then realizes sometimes you have to bail and follow your heart.  Cheesy, but true.

11.  D’Artagnan, in Dumas’ The Three Musketeers.  Indominable spirit.  Again, weak for the women.  Untouched by the darkness of real existence, but fiercely suspicious.

12.  Faramir, in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.  A warrior eager to please those who have high expectations for him.  Principaled.  Keenly perceptive.  A people reader.

13.  Lieutenant Henry, in Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.  Tragic.  Absolutely tragic, and that’s all I can say about it.  I love this character.  I love Hemingway.

14.  Robert Jordan, in Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls.  See #13.

15.  Travis Jordan, in Frank Peretti’s The Visitation.  If you wanted a literary wrapup of all my hopes and fears for the rest of my life, this book would be it.  If you want to find out about where I am, where I live, in the places I don’t talk about, this is the book you should read.  I can’t read the book without weeping like a little boy.

16.  Edmond Dantes, in Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo.  What happens when you’re resourceful and have a deep desire for revenge.  This is a triumphant tragic figure.  Dumas does a great job of showing this throughout the book.  Calculating.  Again, a people reader.  He knew people better than they did, and never let on.

17.  Derfel Cadarn, in Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Trilogy.  A warrior with a romantic’s heart.  That’s all I need to say here.

18.  Aidan McCainnech, in Stephen Lawhead’s Byzantium.  The man loses everything, including his faith.  What he does when he starts to get it back is very, very interesting.  This is a triumphant character.  And a real one at that.

Women

1.  Dr. Emma Russell, in The Saint.  Brilliant, indominable, but very womanly.  Clearly a woman who will choose how she will live her life.

2.  Elena, in The Mask of Zorro.  Again, wild, free, perceptive, passionate. 

3.  Greta Milano, in Fallen.  Guarded, intelligent, self-sacrificial.

4.  Buttercup, in The Princess Bride.  The quintessential picture of everything feminists hate about women.  Still, you can’t help but love Buttercup.

5.  Danielle, in Ever After.  She does things her way.  And she’s spunky and creative, with a good sense of humor.

6.  Sara Thomas, in Serendipity.  Another real character.  Again, walking down the logical, responsible path, and then stopping at the end to realize that without passion, all the logic in the world won’t get it done.

7.  Josephine Markus, in Tombstone.  Indominable.  Seductive.  Playful. 

8.  Maggie Carpenter, in Runaway Bride.  Frightened, Biting Humor, Loving.  This character strikes back at the world out of fear of giving herself away,

9.  Ceinwyn, in Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles.  This is my favorite literary female.  I don’t want to explain her.  If you want to find out about her, you can read the book.

10.  Kazimain, in Lawhead’s Byzantium.  This character is devout.  Very principled.  Keenly intelligent and perceptive.  She doesn’t let love blind her, she keeps her eyes open.  She can defend herself.

11.  Ganieda, in Lawhead’s Merlin.  Again, she makes anyone who would be with her fight for it.  She will not be any man’s plaything.  It’s delicious.

Again, I’ll let you do the math here. I just wanted to give an indication of what my movie and book collections look like.  You may have found this useless, if so, sorry for wasting your time. 

Up next, a dedication.