The Correct Answer Is Cool Hand Luke

As John Cusack says in Serendipity, "The correct answer is Cool Hand Luke," as he answers the question 'what's your favorite movie?" While I can confidently say it doesn't crack my top 50, I thoroughly enjoyed it and can see how it got the number one spot for him.

One of my favorite things about a movie is if they can get the title into the dialogue in a sly and creative way. I thought they did this perfectly. After Luke bluffs everybody out of their money in a nice game of stud, Frank Drebin's boss (right) says 'he kept coming with nothin.' Paul the Newman responds with 'sometimes nothin can be a real cool hand.' This phrase begins to grow on the character throughout the movie, as he is then called Mr. Cool Hand later on and finally given the monniker of Cool Hand Luke by the end. Loved it.

I consider myself a decently big Paul the Newman guy, as I loved both Butch Cassidy and The Sting. I'd take The Sting over the other two, but I really like all three.

A great opening can do wonders for a movie and this had it. Luke getting drunk and slowly taking the tops off of parking meters without a care in the world. This was classic.

I had a tough time figuring out how long they had been at the jail/camp. It seemed like they had been there for a while, like maybe six months. Why is Luke so determined to escape when he only has a two year sentence. Yeah sure it's a terrible time, but Jesus you're almost halfway done.

"What we have here is a failure to communicate." The famous quote from this movie was first said by the captain after Luke is returned following his first attempt to escape. I thought to myself, really this is such a great line? I was pleasantly surprised at the end when Luke repeats the line to the cops as they show up to take him down after his third failed escape. Awesome quote.