2012 Film Olympics: U-S-A, U-S-A!!

Posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at 4:22 PM Central
Last updated Thursday, August 9, 2012 at 4:44 PM Central

by John Couture

There's just something about today that makes me feel a bit extra patriotic. Oh yeah, maybe it's the whole USA vs. USA gold medal final in women's beach volleyball today.

If you don't want to spoiled, turn away now!

The team from the United States won.

Yeah, that was a bad joke, but the sentiment still rings true. The Olympics is the one time where it's more than OK to wear your patriotism on your sleeve. It's country vs. country and the one with the most medals wins.

Well, that's not exactly the spirit of the Olympic games, but it's what McDonald's and Coca-Cola tell me to think, so I have to write it. Personally, you all know that I like a good underdog, so there are times when I wouldn't be upset if the U.S. didn't win.

Call me a bad American if you must, but dominating a third world country in a sport that they barely know the rules to is not very sporting. So, when those teams beat the Goliath, I can cheer a little, right?

Anyhow, I'm off on a tangent again. Today it's all about USA, all the way. Here are the medal winners for films that express the greatest patriotism towards the United States of America.

BRONZE

Independence Day is the only non-sports movie to make the podium. That speaks volumes for how inspiring a movie this film is.

Released over Independence Day weekend and set during the same period underscores the patriotism that this film oozes. If it wasn't incentive enough when the aliens blew up the White House (spoiler alert), Bill Pullman's speech about how this is now the entire world's Independence Day is one of the most inspiring speeches in all of film.

SILVER

I think there needs to be a rule that if you don't have an image of the White House blowing up on your art then you need to have an American flag on it to win a medal. Thankfully, Rocky IV has plenty of flags on all versions of its artwork.

This is the ultimate story of the United States versus Russia in the midst of the Cold War. I can't decide what is more patriotic, Apollo Creed wearing that ridiculous Uncle Sam outfit in his last fight or Rocky Balboa training with chickens. I think I'm going to side with the chickens.

GOLD

When you combine the true story of the most amazing moment in sports with a fierce performance from Kurt Russell, you get Miracle. It's not only great because of the nostalgia that it conjures up but it also works as a compelling look into the inner workings of the U.S. Olympic team.

We all knew the outcome going into the theater, but we still got goosebumps when those last few seconds ticked off the clock against the Soviet Union. This film will make you want to wear nothing but red, white and blue for an entire week.

MGM moves into a tie with Warner Bros. but wins the tie-breaker based on their superior number of gold medals. It's still anyone's game though as we move into the final fortnight as it were.

Make sure you come back tomorrow when we get a bit synchronized on you.