Monday, June 05, 2006

FAVORITES WEEK!!!

Okay, so I decided to do a post today on my favorite movies. I'll post favorite songs (by genre) and books in the near future.

Movies

When picking my favorite movies I ran into a few snags. This is a difficult task for someone who would spend all of his days watching movies if he could. These are not necessarily the Movies that I think are the greatest works of cinematic art but these are the films that I watch the most, therefore they are by default, my favorites. Just like we have those favorite pair of shoes or jeans or underwear. So with that in mind, I have decided to list the movies that, if I had the opportunity, I would watch back to back ... today.

(Drum Roll)

10. Star Wars Episode III I just thik this film is a load of fun. It has a couple of cheezy scenes including the Darth Vader-Frankenstein moment. Also EVERY SINGLE moment of Anakin and Padme's dialogue shows us just how out of touch Lucas is with romantic dialogue of any kind. Even with those moments the movie delivers and I was enthralled.




9. The Matrix I. Enough Said.















8. Shawshank Redemption Another "Enough Said" film.










7. Spiderman I-II Still the best superhero movies made to date.









6. Godfather I. Now I know that Godfather II is great as well, I just can't watch it like I can part 1.






5. Harry Potter 1-4 (i know I cheated) I LOVE the books so of course I am going to dig these movies. The last two have been the best. The film score to Prizoner of Azkaban is a marvel.





4. Kill Bill I-II (now this is supposed to be one whole movie anyway) My sister will hate that I include these but hey, Tarentino is a genius and I'm a guy, so...



3. Empire Strikes Back By far the greatest Star Wars film of the entire franchise.




2. Lord of the Rings I-III The only thing that kept these films from being number one on my list was that I still love the books more than the films.





And the winner for my number one most favoritest movie that I have ever watched the mostestess.

1. Indiana Jones and the RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK!!! I have still seen no film as many times as I have seen Raiders. It is the ultimate summer movie. The summer movies that defined modern day summer movies. I can't wait for the next one. I hope they make it while Harrison Ford can still pee by himself.


Like I said, this is not a detailed list of what I consider the greatest cinematic masterpieces, (although some did make my list) and it gave me great angst to leave out movies such as: Gone with the Wind, Schindler's List, Pale Rider, Good Will Hunting, Shadowlands, Braveheart, E.T., High Noon, TRUE GRIT!!! (which has the manliest scene in the history of film), Rear Window, The Quiet Man (John Wayne's greatest film BTW), Street Car named desire (STELLAAA!!!!), Close Encounters of the Third Kind ("I have your young boy," -sang to the alien 5-note melody), Raising Arizona (holy crimy I need to see that again), The Shining, Dr. Strangelove... all my beloved Kubrick films (my favorite director) the list goes on.

However, one must be true to the guidelines that one sets.

Agree? Disagree? What is your list? What am I seriously missing out on?

18 comments:

Chaotic Hammer said...

Pretty cool list.

I would absolutely have to add the #1 film from my list:

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

I've seen it hundreds of times, know most of the dialogue verbatim, but it's still something I can watch over and over. Not sure why.

Seth Ward said...

I love that film as well. I haven't seen near enough.

"Are you suggesting that coconuts migrate?"


Life of Brian in another classic.

FancyPants said...

I'd also have to say that's a pretty darn great list you got there. I'd have to agree with your sister for Kill Bill 1. Guh-ross. But for some reason, I very much like Kill Bill 2. Like, alot. It really surprised me that I liked it.

Now, mine that I would have to add will never make your list, I have a feeling. They are:

Dirty Dancing

and

Center Stage

NOT because of the acting. I know it's aweful. Center Stage, because I've NEVER seen dancing like that in a movie. It's incredible. And Dirty Dancing, because I wanted to be the one to run into Patrick Swayze's arms into the coolest lift EVER. And I just can't shake this movie. I will ALWAYS love it.

AND, I'm a sucker for dance movies. I can't help it.

(Hey, C-Hammer, and everyone, OK, I'm sorry for asking this, but I want to bold and italicize things, too. I'm assuming I use html "b" and "i" but don't really know how. Is there a way to show me?"

Anonymous said...

Seth,

Awesome list. How about Man on The Moon with Jim Carrey? I hear you have watched it quite a few times with Joey :)

Chaotic Hammer said...

Fancy - I can't actually show you exactly how you'd type it, because if I do it, it will come out bold or italicized.

But it's like this:

< i > this is italics < /i >
< b > this is bold < /b >

Except that you won't have the spaces between the <> and the letters i and b.

Notice that for italics, you start with the < i > (except without the spaces) before the words you want italicized, and then you tell it to stop italicizing by doing the < /i >.

You can practice by using the Preview button, since it will display the text bold or italicized if you've done it correctly.

Hope that helps.

Lexie Ward said...

Okay, you're missing out on
Oh Brother Where Art Thou
Crash
and
Raiders of the Lost Ark

Have I ever mentioned that my hubbie and I went to see Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom on our very first date?

Oh and Raising Arizona is AWESOME. Those Cohen brothers are pure genius. I need to see that one again as well.

Lexie Ward said...

btw, what did you think of the new KING KONG?

Seth Ward said...

thanks campfire, i actually meant to say RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK AHHHHH!!!! not temple of Doom. Darn that A..D.D

I thought the new Kong movie kicked butt. I haven't had that much fun at a movie in a while. As a matter of fact I thought it was awe-inspiring at the theater. Some of it was a little long but I liked that he took a while to introduce the dino's .

I cried at the end. (snif, snif)

It didn't make my list because it is too darn sad at the end. I watch it quite a bit but I usually stop after the Kong/T-Rex dual.

Oh Brother Where Art Thou? Another classic I forgot to mention. I would watch it much more as well If I had not lost it. I just cant bring myself to buy another. Maybe I'll get it for Christmas this year from one of my ....Sisters???

Anonymous said...

Good stuff, man. I'm pretty on board with everything there. I, of course, would add the Mummy. I'd also have to add Gladiator, Batman, Moulin Rouge, and Shakespeare in Love.

Seth Ward said...

I came this close (holding up my index finger and thumb VERY close together) to adding the Mummy. But I just couldn't put the Mummy and Raiders on the same list for some reason. Loyalty I guess.

Soopy, Princess Bride is a dang funny flick, but you are missing out on Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

And, did someone mention Dirty Dancing???? AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I would rather lick my toejam clean after a hard day's work on the farm than see that movie again.

Center Stage wasn't bad though. I could watch it again if I was properly bribed.

FancyPants said...

HEY!


(Thanks C-Hammer)

Lexie Ward said...

You're right, King Kong really was sad at the end. But I enjoyed looking forward to seeing it all year almost as much as the movie itself. They did the same kind of build up they did with LOTR and I loved it.
The only problem I had with King Kong was that one minute they're sliding around on the ice and the next they're on a building, climbing metal ladders with NO ICE!! The realist in me couldn't help but be bugged by this.
Snoopy, I'm finding that O BROTHER is one of those movies you either love or hate. My best buddy doesn't get it either, and we have very similar senses of humor. Oh, well!
I watch The Mummy for the same reason I watch George of the Jungle. Take a guess what (or who!) that is.

Reijn of the Elfin Muse said...

my parents sheltered me from many many many many movies growing up. So i am not movie savy, by no means...but i enjoy greatly the Pink Panther series....the original my dears. Also everything that Hayao Miyazaki does is absolutely amazingly beautiful.

Oh Sin City...nice.

On a side note: i hated Memoirs of a Geisha...bad bad movie...nothing like the novel.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, Fancy. I'm with Seth. I would prefer to swap my toilet paper for sand paper than watch Dirty Dancing again.

Anonymous said...

Seth, it's Elizabeth. You know of me through Joey. First off, I just wanted to say that I love your blog, I read it every chance I can get and I must say you are a genius. I am something of a movie nut and you have a great top ten list goig on there. Kudos to Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and LOTR. But the thing that caught my attention more than anything was your mention of two of my favorite John Wayne movies. I absolutely love and own both True Grit and The Quiet Man. I was a little disappointed at no mention of McLintock, though. Also, no mention of Tombstone, When Harry Met Sally, Fight Club, and Chronicles of Narnia. Granted, the books were much better than the movie was, but still a great one. Also, a few of my favorites are That Thing You Do, Dragonheart, The Patriot, and Airplane. If you haven't seen any of those, I highly reccommend watching them.

Seth Ward said...

Hey Liz!

Thanks for reminding me of Tombstone When Harry Met Sally, and Chronicles of Narnia. I totally forgot. Especially Tombstone. I LOVE that movie. Probably seen it more than 7-10. Joey actually borrowed that movie and never gave it back.

Believe it or not I have yet to see Fight Club. I have been meaning to see it for a while but just have not got around to it.


As for That thing You Do, Dragonheart, McLintock, I have not seen those either but will put them on my list of "must see"

Thanks for dropping by and encouraging and commenting!

Susanne said...

Here are my favorites:

The Gladiator
Days of Thunder (I'm not a big NASCAR fan, but I love Robert Duvall, and he's great in that movie)
The Passion of the Christ
Tommy Boy
Gone With the Wind
Coming to America
Better Off Dead (showing my age here...you guys were probably 8 when this movie came out!)
It's a Wonderful Life
Steel Magnolias
The Shining (probably the closest I've seen a movie match the book)

Anonymous said...

Seth, Liz again. Yes, Tombstone is a great one. I also forgot to mention Love Actually and Playing By Heart. Two amazing movies. And you really should check out those other three. If you need encouraging, I could send them to you through Joey to borrow. I have them all. Thanks for commenting back!