Thursday, January 4, 2007

Top 10 Favorite Movies

These are my top 10 favorite movies. They are by no means the best movies I've ever seen. They're just the ones I can watch over and over and they still just do it for me.

1. Walk the Line
First and foremost because Johnny Cash was just an incredible person being able to overcome a past filled with addiction and mistakes to become someone who inspired people around him. He was also just an incredible presence in the music industry and I think that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon did an amazing job. And I just can't help but get really excited when I watch it.

2. Almost Famous
Cameron Crowe is one of my favorite directors. I love how he makes the soundtrack of the movie such a presence, almost like another character in the movie. I just love it. And I love the way he portrays women. Kate Hudson in this movie, Penelope Cruz in Vanilla Sky, Kirsten Dunst in Elizabethtown, Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire & Ione Skye in Say Anything were all just women I thought were SO cool, but also strong and vulnerable in their own unique ways. Plus I LOVE classic rock and would've loved to tour with The Allman Brothers or Led Zeppelin or somebody like that, just to be a part of that time period would've been awesome, so I just love living it out in this movie. And it's his personal life story, so how cool is that?

3. Elizabethtown
Yet again, the Cameron Crowe thing. I love it! I loved how it was all about him learning about his father and learning about loss and learning to become better because of it. And the cheesy kinda quirky parts like the suicide thing and the shoe and the big house that gets blown up, I mean it's just funny to me and somehow just works. And the scene where he takes the road trip by himself, I just thought was so classic for some reason. For this movie, it was the way it made me feel that made me love it so much.

4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
This movie was creative, unique, interesting, moving & I just thought it was really pretty. I loved Jim Carrey as something different that what we had been used to. Kate Winslet is one of my favorite actresses. I think the idea is great and I think it just really hit home with me. How many of us have wanted to erase someone or some event from our lives? It just made me think, I guess. I just really loved it.

5. The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite authors. I usually HATE movies when I've read the books, but this one I was okay with. It's totally different than the book, but I still enjoyed it. I thought Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling were perfect for the parts. They were exactly how I pictured those people in my head when I was reading it. It's just a perfect love story and you just can't go wrong with that.

6. Sweet Home Alabama
My favorite chick flick. I love Reese Witherspoon. I love Patrick Dempsey. I love Josh Lucas. It just completely was perfect for me and I could watch it every day. There are no great cinematic accomplishments, it just made me happy and that's all I could really ask for.

7. Rock Star
I love 80's metal. LOVE it. I think this movie is cheesy and stupid and silly. The acting isn't great, but Jennifer Aniston and Mark Wahlberg are hot and it's just all in good fun, so get off your high horse and enjoy it!

8. Kingdom of Heaven
I loved this movie just because of what it was trying to say. I think that Ridley Scott makes really beautiful movies. They tend to have the same feel to them, and I like that so it works out. But for this one, I just loved the struggle between Christianity and Muslim. I think there is a struggle like that today - but it's Christianity against so many other things. I am a Christian and not to get on my soap box and preach about anything, but way too many Christians have made a bad name for the rest of us by being judgmental. I just loved the way that the main Christian (Orlando Bloom) and the head of the Muslim group respected each other even though they didn't agree. My favorite scene (sorry if you haven't seen it) but it's towards the end, there is this one Christian priest guy that had been just shouting all the time for different things, "It's the will of God, It's the will of God" when really he had no idea and then towards the end, Orlando Bloom is supposed to go talk to the head of the Muslim group and the priest goes, "Surrender now, repent later." And Orlando goes, "You have taught me so much about religion." I just thought it was hilarious. Because there are way too many Christian leaders like that today and I just thought the movie spoke to that.

9. Crash
I've heard arguments that it was too stereotypical of races, even in trying to make a statement about how racism is wrong. I've heard that it was silly and just too blatant at what it was trying to accomplish. But it was done well and at least it did make you think in the end of it. I watched it with about 10 of my friends at my apartment and the part where the Persian guy shoots at the Latino guy, there was an audible gasp. I just think that says something about a movie where it can pull people in that much to where they have a physical reaction other than crying to a specific scene. I loved it. I think, like it or not, everybody should see it at least once.

10. Gladiator
This is just a classic. It's Ridley Scott. It's Russell Crowe. It's beautifully done, the acting is great, the movie itself is just great. It's violent, but man it's good. I will see all of Ridley Scott's movies from this point on just because this one was so good. They all deserve a chance after that one. And he picks women that are so beautiful, but not in the dumb "blonde hair, big boobs" obvious kind of way. Connie Nielson in this one and then Eva Green in Kingdom of Heaven, they are just very naturally beautiful. I think that's great.



Now, I realize the argument that these are really not the best list of movies you've ever seen. But they're my movies. And for several very specific reasons that I don't even have time to get into for each one, they are my favorites. Although The Prestige and Cinderella Man have to get honorable mentions. If you haven't seen The Prestige yet, you should see it. It's great.

And if anybody reads my blog at all, I would LOVE to know your top 10's or top 5's or whatever. You don't have to be a member to post a comment, so let me know!!

2 comments:

Peter Brackney said...

It's rare that I've ever seen 6/10 movies on a list - but that is the case here.

I think that Crash should be ranked higher - it was an incredible film that brought forth so many social issues.

While 'Walk the Line' was great, I don't know if it is the greatest movie ever or even of recency.

Anonymous said...

A person liking a movie shouldn't have anything to do with the social issues that it brings up. How good a movie is can be based on many things, most importantly the individual person's feelings towards it. Walk the line definitely was one of the best movies of recent, and of the past. There can be just as much of a defense built for that as a defense for a movie like "Gone With The Wind."

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