Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Favorite Movies

Ginger at Ramble Ramble is running weekly writing prompts. I haven't participated much, mostly because I have a backlog of things I want to write about and a shortage of blogging time. But this week, she posted a prompt that sort of wormed its way into my subconscious, and I feel compelled to write about- namely, to list my top ten favorite movies of all time.

Anyone who knows me in real life is probably surprised that this prompt is the one that I felt compelled to write about. To say I am not a big movie-goer is a monumental understatement. I almost never watch a movie, either in the theater or on TV. Last week, I told Mr. Snarky I wanted to see Pacific Rim, and I think he seriously suspected I'd been kidnapped by aliens, not so much for the particular movie I wanted to see (although that was a little out of character for me), but for the fact that I wanted to go see a movie at all.

(We went and saw it, and it was fun. So there.)

But I couldn't stop trying to come up with a list of my top ten favorites movies, so here it is. I've organized it into three sections: the obvious ones (things I've seen multiple times and clearly love), the ones I had to think about but that once I thought of were obvious, and the ones I had to rationalize before I'd put them on the list. Within each section, the movies are in no particular order.

The Obvious Ones

The Almost Obvious Ones
  • Star Wars
    - Episode IV, of course. I'm just of the right age that this movie is part of my childhood.
  • Notorious
    - the 1946 one, with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman
  • The Secret of Roan Inish - this is a really great kids' movie that I have loved since well before I had kids. My kids aren't old enough for it yet, but I look forward to showing it to them. (A different sort of 6 year old could watch it- but mine is particularly sensitive to anything even remotely scary.)
  • Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
    - it is just too much fun. And he's a professor at my alma mater!

The Ones That Need a Reason
  • Sense & Sensibility
    -  Jane Austen is my favorite author, and this is Jane Austen brought to the big screen by someone who clearly loves her, too (Emma Thompson)
  • The Matrix
    - I can't help it. The computer geek jokes delight me, and the concept is just cool.
The last spot was surprisingly tough. I almost went with Gattaca.But I decided I like The Matrix a little more.

What about you? You should play along! You can leave your list in the comments, or write a post and join Ginger's link up.



18 comments:

  1. Oh, Philadelphia Story is so great. SO great. I love a lot of the movies on your list, but that one gets a special mention just because Hepburn is such a freaking firecracker in that role.

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  2. I love the dichotomies here! We watched Casablanca last night - how can that not be on your list? Its modern counterpart, The Usual Suspects, is my all time favorite. And - of course - my 2nd all time favorite - Rebecca (all nerdy blondes' should watch!)!

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    1. I certainly LIKE Casablanca, but Notorious is my favorite Ingrid Bergman movie...

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  3. Anonymous5:05 AM

    The princess bride
    Captain Blood-- fantastic book and fantastic movie. Last scene still cracks me up.
    Tales of Manhattan (ignoring the first and last sketches, because Rita Hayworth can't act and the last scene is vaguely racist and probably why it hasn't been put on dvd yet.) It makes me laugh hard, it makes me cry tears of joy. Charles Laughton's scene makes my face wet with tears every time I see it.

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  4. Anonymous8:50 AM

    Hmm, this is kind of hard, since I prefer to watch documentaries over movies. Though I do like LOTR.

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  5. There's a remake of Charade? I'm afraid to ask.

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    1. It was relatively recent. I refused to watch it on principle. Also, I don't go to movies much. But I hear it wasn't bad. I just don't think there is any POINT to remaking Charade!

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  6. Let's see:

    1) The Thin Man: Nick and Nora trade martinis and a cute dog to boot
    2) The Big Sleep: To Have and Have Not had amazing sparks between Bogie and Bachall but this movie is more entertaining overall (just trying to follow the plot, for example)
    3) Raiders of the Lost Ark: "snakes..why did it have to be snakes?"
    4) Raise the Red Lantern: beautiful, tragic
    5) Clueless: impressively timeless
    6) Much Ado About Nothing: I guess I like witty couples and will forgive the presence of a wooden Keanu Reeves
    7) Airplane: I still laugh when I hear "that's when I developed my drinking problem"
    8) The Blues Brothers: sing it, Aretha!
    9) Office Space: a cult classic for anyone who has ever worked in private industry
    10) Star Wars: I may never watch it again, but that's mostly because I probably have it memorized.

    Some other favs: Shaun of the Dead, Army of Darkness, The Third Man, Hero, The Seven Samurai, Holiday (the 1938 one with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn), Ever After, A Night at the Opera, Now Voyager, All About Eve, Sixteen Candles, Better off Dead

    Maybe I should go pretend to work now. :)

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    1. The Thin Man! I can't believe I forgot about The Thin Man. Awesome movie. So much fun.

      I thought about putting a John Hughes movie on the list, but decided against it. If I had, I think I would have had to go with Breakfast Club.

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  7. I don't really have favorite movies, which seems weird to me. Maybe it's because I've been watching a lot more tv lately, so that's what I've been loving. The Lion in Winter used to be one of my favorites, speaking of Katherine Hepburn, and Room With A View. One of the few movies I've seen in the past 5 r so years that took my breath away was Herzog's Grizzly Man. Oh, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind.

    I also loved Sense and Sensibility. Emma Thompson rules all.

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  8. Favourite movies for me are the ones that I know inside and out and I will happily watch over and over again. There are lots of other movies that I love and think are amazing, but couldn't watch again (like Schindler's List).

    1) You've Got Mail - it 'our' movie
    2) Love Actually - DH and I watch it every Christmas
    3) Star Wars, Emperor Strikes Back
    4) Dead Again (Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson)
    5) Clueless - yes!
    6) Dirty Dancing
    7) It's a Wonderful Life
    8) Grease
    9) Pride and Prejudice
    10) About a Boy

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  9. Zenmoo10:23 PM

    My list -

    1. Empire of the Sun

    2. Love, Actually (I just love the opening in the airport - it is undoubtably my favourite scene in a movie ever. I've grown up with such wonderful memories of being greeted by and saying good bye to people I love at airports that I can't even think about the scene without tearing up!!)

    3. Dude ,Where's my car? (I have seen this movie twice. Really. I would watch it again, again, again, aaaagaaain)

    4. The Piano

    5. La Reine Margot (which did my head in, and I don't know I'd want to watch it again - but it certainly has stuck with me since I saw it nearly 20 years ago!)


    *** and now, having read other people's comments, I'd probably add Shaun of the Dead. And now I think about it, Black Sheep for a bit of NZ comedy horror with zombie sheep & Scarfies mostly for the fun of spotting my husbands friends as extras and the fantastic soundtrack.

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    1. Oh man. Scarfies... Mr. Snarky tried to show that to me but it triggered my "bad things are about to happen!" hang up to strongly, and we never managed to finish it.

      For NZ films, I love Sione's Wedding. It was so much fun, and so sweet. I really liked Whale Rider, too, but I've only seen it once and was only putting things on the list if I'd seen them at least twice.

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  10. Zenmoo2:31 AM

    I haven't seen Sione's Wedding - although I should as it sounds like a movie I'd like.

    Have you seen Muriel's Wedding? It's another movie I enjoyed but less light-weight than the ABBA-tastic soundtrack would suggest.



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    1. Anonymous5:07 AM

      Ugh Muriel's Wedding. I had a friend in college who was always able to find the drama that was mislabeled comedy in the video store. That one and one with Kenneth Branaugh having sex with a dying woman in a wheelchair come to mind (airplanes were also involved... possibly also the search for a male prostitute).

      Every time I talk to someone about the horror of wedding dress shopping I think about how unrealistic Muriel's Wedding is. Really, someone would go through that for fun?

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  11. same as Jac, my favourites are ones I would happily watch over and over, or bring back good memories, they're not necessarily what I consider the 'best' movies. Also, I have a terrible memory for movies, so I'm sure I'm missing a lot of good ones. In no particular order:

    1. Anchor Man. The first half has me in stitches every time

    2. A Room With a View

    3. Withnail and I

    4. Contact

    5. Milk. Not sure I could watch it many more times, but I did really enjoy it.

    6.March of the Penguins. I know, documentary...

    7. The Sweet Hereafter

    8. Bridget Jones Diary

    9. Office Space

    10. Guess who's coming to dinner


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  12. Anonymous9:53 AM

    I love your movies; have you seen The Ghost and Mrs. Muir?

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    Replies
    1. No, I'd never even heard of it. I just looked it up on IMDB- looks interesting!

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