10 Cinematic Clichés That Must Live!

James Hudnall had a right-on post about 10 Cinematic Clichés That Must Die!, which he followed up with 10 more. I agree, but I offer my list of characters to replace them.

1. The Crazed Vietnam Vet. It started in the 1970s when Hollywood wanted a character whose violence could be excused as the work of the government. The original “Rambo” movie was actually this very cliché.

Far more interesting is the character Noah, played by Chris Klein in “The Valley of Light,” about a World War II hero who comes home to find the family farm sold off, his parents dead and his brother is in jail. Very quietly, he puts to great use the maturity he had tempered in war, and the movie (spoiler alert) ends with him letting the catfish go. (more…)