2012 Film Olympics: This is the End

Posted Sunday, August 12, 2012 at 7:41 PM Central
Last updated Sunday, August 12, 2012 at 7:42 PM Central

by John Couture

To quote the late, great Jim Morrison:

This is the end My only friend, the end Of our elaborate plans, the end Of everything that stands, the end No safety or surprise, the end I'll never look into your eyes...again

Some look at the end of something as the destination, while others look at it as the beginning of the next big thing.

The same holds true for the Olympics. For two weeks, it captures the world's imagination and while tonight is certainly the end of the London games, it's also the beginning of the trip to Rio.

These last two weeks have seen plenty of wonderful athletic feats of strength and stories of courage. We've also had a bit of fun here too. Not knowing where the trip would take us, I must admit that it was a blast to share the Olympics with you from this unique perspective.

My wife, who doesn't share the same level of affection that I do for the Olympics, will be thankful that tomorrow will be an Olympics free day, but until then, it's time to celebrate the End. The closing ceremonies promises to be a London rock concert, so how fitting to end our Film Olympics with the best of rock in films.

BRONZE

Is there a better spoof movie ever made than This is Spinal Tap? It's a classic film that still holds up to the test of time. It's about the music and features a real, and real hilarious, look at a rock group.

This one goes to 11 and that's good enough for bronze.

SILVER

I really struggled putting together this list, but the one film that I absolutely knew must be on it is Almost Famous. It's a rock film sure, but it's also a slice of culture from the time when rock was king and life was secondary.

We all strive to be golden gods, but this film has to settle for silver.

GOLD

I sort of tipped my hat with the title and the quote at the beginning, but I was as surprised as you that The Doors took gold. My wife is the biggest Beatles fan there is and I was sure that one of their films would make the podium, but even she said that this was her favorite rock and roll film.

I can't argue with the Boss. A great film and a great performance from Val Kilmer lead this one to gold.

MGM and Universal tie for the lead in total medals, but MGM scored gold across their 10 medals. Looking at the medal table, I think it's a fair account of which studios released some of the best films over the years.

Thank you for following along. See you in Rio!