7. The Quiet Man:

Released in 1952, The Quiet Man is about a retired American boxer (John Wayne) returns to the village where he was born in Ireland, where he finds love (in form of Maureen O’Hara). The movie does get criticism from native Irish as being an overly cheerful Americanization of Irish life. Well, of course it is. It’s a movie and an upbeat one at that — real life isn’t this happy. So, leave all your cinematic prejudices at the door. John Wayne plays, disgraced Irish-American boxer Sean Thornton, who has retired from the ring after accidentally killing his opponent. This the heaviest part of the movie for as soon as Wayne hits the Emerald Isle, the film becomes a rollicking punch-in-the-face, raise-a-pint and woo-your-bonny-lass film created by the king of the Western, John Ford. This film was my inspiration for my love of tweed Irish hats (which are oh-so trendy these days). Seriously, watch this movie and you’ll be dying for a slice of soda bread.

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Bill Bodkin is the Owner, Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Pop-Break. Most importantly, however, he is the proud father of a beauty daughter, Sophie. He is beyond excited that Pop-Break will be six years old in 2015 as this site has come a long, long way from the day he launched in it in his bachelor pad at the Jersey Shore. He can be read every Monday for the Happy Mondays Interview Series as well as his weekly reviews on Law & Order: SVU, Mad Men and Hannibal. His goal, once again, is to write 500 stories this year (a goal he accomplished in 2014). He is a graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in Journalism & English. Follow him on Twitter: @PopBreakDotCom
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