AUDIENCE CHOICE: Here are 14 'manly films' that YOU recommended!

February 28, 2023

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox, Paramount Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

WRITER

Last week, Glenn's staff compiled a list of 14 "manly" movies that display positive depictions of manhood. It was such a hit that Glenn's audience wanted to chime in! We have compiled PART 2 of the "manly movie list" based on recommendations from YOU! Did YOUR recommendation make the list? Tell us what you think!

Gladiator

This was the first film recommended by Glenn's audience. There are fewer films that portray the themes of dignity, honor, sacrifice, and wisdom in difficult circumstances better than The Gladiator. Russell Crowe stars as Maximus, a once-honored general under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Maximus is made a slave after the emperor's death under the new reign of Aurellius' jealous and power-hungry son. Maximus displays how to choose dignity in the face of temptation and to never compromise character for the sake of convenience and power. He embodies sacrifice, surrendering himself for the sake of honoring his family and country. Rated R

Braveheart

It comes as no surprise that Glenn's audience highlighted this classic. Like The Gladiator, Mel Gibson's iconic portrayal of the legendary Scottish warrior, William Wallace, displays how to use strength to fight for justice and freedom in the midst of injustice and oppression. He also shows the ultimate display of strength through sacrifice—giving his life for the sake of his ideals and countrymen. Rated R

Dances with Wolves

Glenn's audience was quick to recommend this classic. Kevin Costner plays a Civil War Union soldier John Dunbar who wants to see the frontier "before it's gone." He encounters the Lakota Indians and lives among them, attracted to the simplicity of their life. They give him the name, "Dancing With Wolves." Costner is caught in the middle of the conflict between the Native Americans and the growing westward presence in the U.S. The film shows Costner standing on his convictions and trying to be a voice for both sides rather than an agent of conflict. Rated PG-13

Band of Brothers

Though this is a TV series, it is no wonder why Glenn's audience highlighted this production. The iconic World War II-era series displays themes of strength and sacrifice, and shows how to rely on your "brothers" through unbelievably difficult challenges. The 101st Airborne Division is one of the most revered heroes in America's history, and this series does them justice! Rated R

The Adam Project

This recent Netflix film is a rare example of a modern Hollywood film portraying positive views of manhood and fatherhood. The dystopian film follows Adam Reed, played by Ryan Reynolds, who travels back in time from 2050 to 2018 to save his wife. Due to a malfunction, Reed crashes into 2022 and enlists the help of his younger self on his mission. The coming-of-age movie displays the struggles and victories of growing up as well as wrestling with the shortcomings of your parents that follow you into manhood. Rated PG-13

Men of Honor

Based on an incredible true story, Men of Honor follows Carl Brashear, played by Cuba Gooding Jr., the world's first black master diver, who overcame discrimination and struggles to become one of the most celebrated men in the Navy. Brashear, an ambitious sharecropper, joins the Navy's elite diving unit and battles against his discriminatory commanding officer, Master Chief Billy Sunday, played by Robert DeNiro. The story shows how heroes are made from personal character and perseverance in the face of challenges and oppression. Rated R

Heartbreak Ridge

Glenn's audience wanted to highlight a Clint Eastwood film and some were quick to recommend Heartbreak Ridge. Eastwood plays Marine Sgt. Thomas Highway, a decorated veteran of two wars. On his last posting before retirement, Highway is surrounded by officers with no combat experience who view him as a holdover "past his prime." Highway is assigned to train a group of undisciplined recruits who don't believe a war will ever come—but then the U.S. invades Grenada. This is a classic film about leadership and holding high standards of excellence, even when you don't think it necessary. Rated R

True Grit

Glenn's audience demanded a John Wayne film to be included on the list, and it is no wonder why! There are few figures who are associated with "manliness" like John Wayne, the icon of the Western movie genre alongside Clint Eastwood. We chose to highlight his classic film, True Grit, and his role as Marshall Reuben J. Cogburn. Though the film begins with Cogburn as a tough, money-hungry U.S. Marshall, he is transformed by a teenage girl, Mattie Ross, who hires him to help find her father's murderer. In the end, he risks everything to protect Ross, who he endearingly calls, "little sis." Like many Westerns, the film is also about traveling into the unknown and unruly to find yourself and bring about justice. Rated G

Secondhand Lions

This star-studded duo cast of Michael Cain and Robert Duvall depicts how strong male figures transform the life of a young boy yearning for direction, mentors, and love. The movie follows a shy boy named Walter, who is taken by his greedy mother to spend the summer with his two hard-headed great-uncles, Hub and Garth, who are rumored to possess a large fortune. His mother hopes that they will show him where their fortune is hidden. At first, the two old men, who are both set in their ways, find Walter's presence a nuisance. Eventually, they warm up to Walter and recount all the tales from their past, becoming the strong father figures he never had. In return, Walter helps rekindle their youthful spirit. Rated PG

Iron Will

A classic "coming-of-age" film, Iron Will tells the story of a teenager named Will Stoneman, who competes in a 500-mile-long dog sledding race to help financially support his mother after his father's death leaves his family in financial ruin. He battles with older, seasoned dog sledders who plot to bring about his demise as he continues to push ahead in the race. The movie shows how a young man chooses strength, dignity, and perseverance to overcome his challenges, rather than succumbing to the dubious plots of his competitors. Rated PG

Devotion

Devotion tells the incredible true story of Jesse Brown, the first black aviator in U.S. Navy history, and his enduring friendship with fellow fighter pilot, Tom Hudner. Their friendship, courage, and sacrifice helped turn the tide in one of the most consequential battles of the Korean War, making them two of the most celebrated wingmen in U.S. history. Rated PG-13

12 O'Clock High

The Hollywood legend Gregory Peck stars as the "no-nonsense" Brigadier General Frank Savage, who assumes command of an American Air Force stationed in England in 1942 that is plagued by a lack of morale. This World War II-era classic is a story of how good leadership can transform those around you. Not rated

Schindler's List

This gritty Holocaust-era classic displays how an ordinary man can be transformed into an extraordinary one. Erich Schindler was a man thirsty for power and money, who used Jewish labor to save on costs in his textile factory in Krakow, Poland. He was transformed by the horror of the Holocaust to view the Jewish people as an end in themselves, instilled with inherent dignity, rather than a mere means to an end. He gives up his entire fortune, reputation, and even risks his life to save as many Jewish people as possible by enlisting them to work in his factory. It is one of the most beautiful stories of transformation and redemption in the midst of suffering and evil. What's even more remarkable? It's based on a TRUE story. Rated R

The Right Stuff

Based on the acclaimed Tom Wolf novel under the same name, The Right Stuff tells the story of the first 15 years of America's space program, chronicling the professional and personal lives of the Mercury astronauts. The film highlights leadership in the face of political turmoil and traveling to the "unknown." Will you stand by your principles not only when the world is crumbling around you, but when you travel outside the known world? This film is a great example of leadership in the face of the unknown. Rated PG

Why the White House restoration sent the left Into panic mode

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

Presidents have altered the White House for decades, yet only Donald Trump is treated as a vandal for privately funding the East Wing’s restoration.

Every time a president so much as changes the color of the White House drapes, the press clutches its pearls. Unless the name on the stationery is Barack Obama’s, even routine restoration becomes a national outrage.

President Donald Trump’s decision to privately fund upgrades to the White House — including a new state ballroom — has been met with the usual chorus of gasps and sneers. You’d think he bulldozed Monticello.

If a Republican preserves beauty, it’s vandalism. If a Democrat does the same, it’s ‘visionary.’

The irony is that presidents have altered and expanded the White House for more than a century. President Franklin D. Roosevelt added the East and West Wings in the middle of the Great Depression. Newspapers accused him of building a palace while Americans stood in breadlines. History now calls it “vision.”

First lady Nancy Reagan faced the same hysteria. Headlines accused her of spending taxpayer money on new china “while Americans starved.” In truth, she raised private funds after learning that the White House didn’t have enough matching plates for state dinners. She took the ridicule and refused to pass blame.

“I’m a big girl,” she told her staff. “This comes with the job.” That was dignity — something the press no longer recognizes.

A restoration, not a renovation

Trump’s project is different in every way that should matter. It costs taxpayers nothing. Not a cent. The president and a few friends privately fund the work. There’s no private pool or tennis court, no personal perks. The additions won’t even be completed until after he leaves office.

What’s being built is not indulgence — it’s stewardship. A restoration of aging rooms, worn fixtures, and century-old bathrooms that no longer function properly in the people’s house. Trump has paid for cast brass doorknobs engraved with the presidential seal, restored the carpets and moldings, and ensured that the architecture remains faithful to history.

The media’s response was mockery and accusations of vanity. They call it “grotesque excess,” while celebrating billion-dollar “climate art” projects and funneling hundreds of millions into activist causes like the No Kings movement. They lecture America on restraint while living off the largesse of billionaires.

The selective guardians of history

Where was this sudden reverence for history when rioters torched St. John’s Church — the same church where every president since James Madison has worshipped? The press called it an “expression of grief.”

Where was that reverence when mobs toppled statues of Washington, Jefferson, and Grant? Or when first lady Melania Trump replaced the Rose Garden’s lawn with a patio but otherwise followed Jackie Kennedy’s original 1962 plans in the garden’s restoration? They called that “desecration.”

If a Republican preserves beauty, it’s vandalism. If a Democrat does the same, it’s “visionary.”

The real desecration

The people shrieking about “historic preservation” care nothing for history. They hate the idea that something lasting and beautiful might be built by hands they despise. They mock craftsmanship because it exposes their own cultural decay.

The White House ballroom is not a scandal — it’s a mirror. And what it reflects is the media’s own pettiness. The ruling class that ridicules restoration is the same class that cheered as America’s monuments fell. Its members sneer at permanence because permanence condemns them.

Julia Beverly / Contributor | Getty Images

Trump’s improvements are an act of faith — in the nation’s symbols, its endurance, and its worth. The outrage over a privately funded renovation says less about him than it does about the journalists who mistake destruction for progress.

The real desecration isn’t happening in the East Wing. It’s happening in the newsrooms that long ago tore up their own foundation — truth — and never bothered to rebuild it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Trump’s secret war in the Caribbean EXPOSED — It’s not about drugs

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

The president’s moves in Venezuela, Guyana, and Colombia aren’t about drugs. They’re about re-establishing America’s sovereignty across the Western Hemisphere.

For decades, we’ve been told America’s wars are about drugs, democracy, or “defending freedom.” But look closer at what’s unfolding off the coast of Venezuela, and you’ll see something far more strategic taking shape. Donald Trump’s so-called drug war isn’t about fentanyl or cocaine. It’s about control — and a rebirth of American sovereignty.

The aim of Trump’s ‘drug war’ is to keep the hemisphere’s oil, minerals, and manufacturing within the Western family and out of Beijing’s hands.

The president understands something the foreign policy class forgot long ago: The world doesn’t respect apologies. It respects strength.

While the global elites in Davos tout the Great Reset, Trump is building something entirely different — a new architecture of power based on regional independence, not global dependence. His quiet campaign in the Western Hemisphere may one day be remembered as the second Monroe Doctrine.

Venezuela sits at the center of it all. It holds the world’s largest crude oil reserves — oil perfectly suited for America’s Gulf refineries. For years, China and Russia have treated Venezuela like a pawn on their chessboard, offering predatory loans in exchange for control of those resources. The result has been a corrupt, communist state sitting in our own back yard. For too long, Washington shrugged. Not any more.The naval exercises in the Caribbean, the sanctions, the patrols — they’re not about drug smugglers. They’re about evicting China from our hemisphere.

Trump is using the old “drug war” playbook to wage a new kind of war — an economic and strategic one — without firing a shot at our actual enemies. The goal is simple: Keep the hemisphere’s oil, minerals, and manufacturing within the Western family and out of Beijing’s hands.

Beyond Venezuela

Just east of Venezuela lies Guyana, a country most Americans couldn’t find on a map a year ago. Then ExxonMobil struck oil, and suddenly Guyana became the newest front in a quiet geopolitical contest. Washington is helping defend those offshore platforms, build radar systems, and secure undersea cables — not for charity, but for strategy. Control energy, data, and shipping lanes, and you control the future.

Moreover, Colombia — a country once defined by cartels — is now positioned as the hinge between two oceans and two continents. It guards the Panama Canal and sits atop rare-earth minerals every modern economy needs. Decades of American presence there weren’t just about cocaine interdiction; they were about maintaining leverage over the arteries of global trade. Trump sees that clearly.

PEDRO MATTEY / Contributor | Getty Images

All of these recent news items — from the military drills in the Caribbean to the trade negotiations — reflect a new vision of American power. Not global policing. Not endless nation-building. It’s about strategic sovereignty.

It’s the same philosophy driving Trump’s approach to NATO, the Middle East, and Asia. We’ll stand with you — but you’ll stand on your own two feet. The days of American taxpayers funding global security while our own borders collapse are over.

Trump’s Monroe Doctrine

Critics will call it “isolationism.” It isn’t. It’s realism. It’s recognizing that America’s strength comes not from fighting other people’s wars but from securing our own energy, our own supply lines, our own hemisphere. The first Monroe Doctrine warned foreign powers to stay out of the Americas. The second one — Trump’s — says we’ll defend them, but we’ll no longer be their bank or their babysitter.

Historians may one day mark this moment as the start of a new era — when America stopped apologizing for its own interests and started rebuilding its sovereignty, one barrel, one chip, and one border at a time.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Antifa isn’t “leaderless” — It’s an organized machine of violence

Jeff J Mitchell / Staff | Getty Images

The mob rises where men of courage fall silent. The lesson from Portland, Chicago, and other blue cities is simple: Appeasing radicals doesn’t buy peace — it only rents humiliation.

Parts of America, like Portland and Chicago, now resemble occupied territory. Progressive city governments have surrendered control to street militias, leaving citizens, journalists, and even federal officers to face violent anarchists without protection.

Take Portland, where Antifa has terrorized the city for more than 100 consecutive nights. Federal officers trying to keep order face nightly assaults while local officials do nothing. Independent journalists, such as Nick Sortor, have even been arrested for documenting the chaos. Sortor and Blaze News reporter Julio Rosas later testified at the White House about Antifa’s violence — testimony that corporate media outlets buried.

Antifa is organized, funded, and emboldened.

Chicago offers the same grim picture. Federal agents have been stalked, ambushed, and denied backup from local police while under siege from mobs. Calls for help went unanswered, putting lives in danger. This is more than disorder; it is open defiance of federal authority and a violation of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

A history of violence

For years, the legacy media and left-wing think tanks have portrayed Antifa as “decentralized” and “leaderless.” The opposite is true. Antifa is organized, disciplined, and well-funded. Groups like Rose City Antifa in Oregon, the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club in Texas, and Jane’s Revenge operate as coordinated street militias. Legal fronts such as the National Lawyers Guild provide protection, while crowdfunding networks and international supporters funnel money directly to the movement.

The claim that Antifa lacks structure is a convenient myth — one that’s cost Americans dearly.

History reminds us what happens when mobs go unchecked. The French Revolution, Weimar Germany, Mao’s Red Guards — every one began with chaos on the streets. But it wasn’t random. Today’s radicals follow the same playbook: Exploit disorder, intimidate opponents, and seize moral power while the state looks away.

Dismember the dragon

The Trump administration’s decision to designate Antifa a domestic terrorist organization was long overdue. The label finally acknowledged what citizens already knew: Antifa functions as a militant enterprise, recruiting and radicalizing youth for coordinated violence nationwide.

But naming the threat isn’t enough. The movement’s financiers, organizers, and enablers must also face justice. Every dollar that funds Antifa’s destruction should be traced, seized, and exposed.

AFP Contributor / Contributor | Getty Images

This fight transcends party lines. It’s not about left versus right; it’s about civilization versus anarchy. When politicians and judges excuse or ignore mob violence, they imperil the republic itself. Americans must reject silence and cowardice while street militias operate with impunity.

Antifa is organized, funded, and emboldened. The violence in Portland and Chicago is deliberate, not spontaneous. If America fails to confront it decisively, the price won’t just be broken cities — it will be the erosion of the republic itself.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

URGENT: Supreme Court case could redefine religious liberty

Drew Angerer / Staff | Getty Images

The state is effectively silencing professionals who dare speak truths about gender and sexuality, redefining faith-guided speech as illegal.

This week, free speech is once again on the line before the U.S. Supreme Court. At stake is whether Americans still have the right to talk about faith, morality, and truth in their private practice without the government’s permission.

The case comes out of Colorado, where lawmakers in 2019 passed a ban on what they call “conversion therapy.” The law prohibits licensed counselors from trying to change a minor’s gender identity or sexual orientation, including their behaviors or gender expression. The law specifically targets Christian counselors who serve clients attempting to overcome gender dysphoria and not fall prey to the transgender ideology.

The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The law does include one convenient exception. Counselors are free to “assist” a person who wants to transition genders but not someone who wants to affirm their biological sex. In other words, you can help a child move in one direction — one that is in line with the state’s progressive ideology — but not the other.

Think about that for a moment. The state is saying that a counselor can’t even discuss changing behavior with a client. Isn’t that the whole point of counseling?

One‑sided freedom

Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor in Colorado Springs, has been one of the victims of this blatant attack on the First Amendment. Chiles has dedicated her practice to helping clients dealing with addiction, trauma, sexuality struggles, and gender dysphoria. She’s also a Christian who serves patients seeking guidance rooted in biblical teaching.

Before 2019, she could counsel minors according to her faith. She could talk about biblical morality, identity, and the path to wholeness. When the state outlawed that speech, she stopped. She followed the law — and then she sued.

Her case, Chiles v. Salazar, is now before the Supreme Court. Justices heard oral arguments on Tuesday. The question: Is counseling a form of speech or merely a government‑regulated service?

If the court rules the wrong way, it won’t just silence therapists. It could muzzle pastors, teachers, parents — anyone who believes in truth grounded in something higher than the state.

Censored belief

I believe marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God. I believe that family — mother, father, child — is central to His design for humanity.

I believe that men and women are created in God’s image, with divine purpose and eternal worth. Gender isn’t an accessory; it’s part of who we are.

I believe the command to “be fruitful and multiply” still stands, that the power to create life is sacred, and that it belongs within marriage between a man and a woman.

And I believe that when we abandon these principles — when we treat sex as recreation, when we dissolve families, when we forget our vows — society fractures.

Are those statements controversial now? Maybe. But if this case goes against Chiles, those statements and others could soon be illegal to say aloud in public.

Faith on trial

In Colorado today, a counselor cannot sit down with a 15‑year‑old who’s struggling with gender identity and say, “You were made in God’s image, and He does not make mistakes.” That is now considered hate speech.

That’s the “freedom” the modern left is offering — freedom to affirm, but never to question. Freedom to comply, but never to dissent. The same movement that claims to champion tolerance now demands silence from anyone who disagrees. The root of this case isn’t about therapy. It’s about erasing a worldview.

The real test

No matter what happens at the Supreme Court, we cannot stop speaking the truth. These beliefs aren’t political slogans. For me, they are the product of years of wrestling, searching, and learning through pain and grace what actually leads to peace. For us, they are the fundamental principles that lead to a flourishing life. We cannot balk at standing for truth.

Maybe that’s why God allows these moments — moments when believers are pushed to the wall. They force us to ask hard questions: What is true? What is worth standing for? What is worth dying for — and living for?

If we answer those questions honestly, we’ll find not just truth, but freedom.

The state doesn’t grant real freedom — and it certainly isn’t defined by Colorado legislators. Real freedom comes from God. And the day we forget that, the First Amendment will mean nothing at all.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.