19.2.12

The Favourites - Day 9: Movies

I grew up watching movies and television, I'm not afraid to admit it. But I was also a child of the great outdoors. All I watched helped me be alone- my siblings are 7+ years older than me, and they didn't always want to play with me.*
Let's get down to it.

1. Wall-E (Dir. Andrew Stanton)
"Eeee-vaaa!"
Not since R2D2 has there been a robot so cuddly! Pixar/Disney never disappoint- and Wall-E is no exception. The dialogue is minimum and the basic storyline pretty simple, but it still manages to evoke meaning and sentimentality. 
It only, takes a moment...

2. Moulin Rouge (Dir. Baz Luhrman)
Ewan McGregor singing and making young girls feel things they've never felt before. Is that good enough reason? It's fast paced, colourful and the lavish sets make me feel like I'm living in black & white.
I can quote this movie front to back and obviously sing along to all songs. 
The only other movie that had such a strong effect on me and required to be viewed numerous times in one day was Babe. But I won't get into that...

3. Singin' in the Rain (Dir. Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly)
Sure, Gene Kelly's an amazing dancer but Donald O'Connor will make you laugh with his incredible stunts, dancing and facial expressions (How does he 'twist' his nose like that?!). Jean Hagen (who plays Lina Lamont) does one hell of a job and is one of the greatest supporting actress performances, in my opinion. 
It's THIS performance that made me go, "Hey, I want to do that (tap dance)"

4. Benny & Joon (Dir. Jeremiah S. Chechik)
"It's a shame about raisins."
And so my love of all things quirky and witty finds its way home. It never occurred to me that Joon was "sick"- in fact, I always thought her to be rather cool and smart.
A young Julianne Moore, a good looking Aidan Quinn and an incomparable romance between Sam (Johnny Depp) & Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson).
 This scene is, of course, one of my favourites. You need to watch it if you haven't already.

5. Amadeus (Dir. Milos Forman)
You know you're in for a treat when the opening Mozart number is Symphony No. 25 in G minor.
From then on, it just gets better and better- the film, that is. Mozart's life, not so much (if you don't count his musical genius). This Academy Award winner x8 does not fall short in anything. Filmed in Prague, at the time still under Communist rule, actual locations are like secondary characters. 
The supporting cast includes Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones, a very young Cynthia Nixon, and Vincent Schiavelli, among others. Tom Hulce should have tied with F. Murray Abraham for Best Actor.
Favourite lines? Easy. Peter Shaffer, you make words melt in my ear, taste sweet in my mouth.

6. Young Frankenstein (Dir. Mel Brooks)
"What the hell you doing in the bathroom day and night? Why don't you get out and give someone else a chance!"
A tap dancing Frankenstein? Only in a Mel Brooks film. Written by one of my favourite actors, Gene Wilder, this truly is a funny movie. I don't really know what else to say about it, you just have to see it for yourself...
Many-a-night I imagine Frau Blucher (*horse whinny*) stopping by my room to say goodnight.

7. Lord of The Rings Trilogy (Dir. Peter Jackson)
"Suuure I know a Baggins! Frodo Baggins! He's my second cousin twice removed on my mother's side..."
This movie is to me what "The Godfather" is to men (Bazinga- I just went there). Orcs, and Hobbits and Elves- oh my! It doesn't hurt that they're all good looking too. 
The whole trilogy is amazeballs, but my favourite, without a doubt, is 'The Fellowship of the Ring'. The beginning of the journey where you get to know all these characters. Pippin's the comedic relief and because of that my favourite character throughout. 
And what an epic journey it was just waiting for the movies to be released! Needless to say, I'm psyched for "The Hobbit".
I'm also grateful of the movie's existance, because without it we wouldn't have this.**

8. Annie Hall (Dir. Woody Allen)
Annie Hall is every woman. And this is every awkward situation you've had with a guy you like.
Diane Keaton gave us the ultimate Ralph Lauren look and La di da, La di da... While Woody Allen just gave us, well, Woody Allen (which I do enjoy).
To me, this is one of his finest and the recent 'Midnight in Paris' was back on track with classic Allen.
9.  Sabrina (Dir. Billy Wilder)
Audrey Hepburn is all charm, charm, charm! All the while looking beautiful- transforming from girl-next-door to sophisticated-chic. The thing with Audrey Hepburn is she plays naive so convincingly- she was 'cute' before being cute was a thing.
I'm actually a sucker when it comes to romance and love stories and this.... *sigh* It can't get any more romantic than this.
Lovely.

10. Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Dir. Stanley Kubrick)
"Uh hello Dimitri?..."
When Theater of the Absurd becomes film.
When watching a Kubrick film it's not hard to see why the man is a legend. Kubrick understood moving pictures so well- every frame is part of the story and not a waste.
 George C. Scott and Peter Sellers (playing 3 different roles) are just more reason to love this film.

Honorable Mention: Die Hard (Dir. John McTiernan)
"Yippie ki yay, Motherfucker."
This movie gets an honorable mention because I don't really do action films. Except Die Hard. Die Hard I can watch dozens of times and not tire of it (Die Hard and Die Hard with a Vengeance, let's pretend No. 2 never existed...).
McClane's a bad ass, il capo di tutti capi. And he's got a wicked sense of humour. 
Honorable Villains: (two brits playing two germans) Alan Rickman and Jeremy Irons. Yum. 

There are many films I keep thinking about that I really love too- but perhaps I'll "fan-out" eventually...

So how about we have a movie night now. I'll get the popcorn ready!
What are some of your favourite movies? 

* Not complaining. They never EVER pushed me aside whenever they had get togethers or parties. Au contraire, to them, their "cute little sister" was a riot.
** Easily my favourite youtube video. Ever.

5 comments:

  1. Wow, such great picks, I don't even know where to start! lol Young Frankenstein was a family favorite when I was growing up. Singin' in the Rain has ALWAYS been a fave of mine. I'm a LOTR freak and cannot WAIT for The Hobbit. Watching the trailer is amazing, it's like Jackson never left Middle Earth, so psyched!

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    1. I know- I can't wait for the The Hobbit! Still a few months to go... lol
      Glad you liked the picks :)

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  2. You and I could be "movie sisters"! Love Die Hard, LOTR, Young Frankenstein, and Wall-e. All that is missing is the popcorn :) xxCat

    ps. Thanks for stopping by my blog and saying hi!

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    1. Salted or Buttered works for me! hehe

      And thanks for stopping by mine :)

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  3. I love Amadeus too! I don't know if you remember it, but we walked by the theatre where a lot of the movie was filmed when you came to Prague! Every time I walk by the theatre I think of the movie (and Mozart lol!)
    And I love Sabrina too! (Is it embarrassing to admit that I like the remake of that with Greg Kinnear and Harrison Ford from the 90's too???!!)

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