My Favorite Movies

January, 2009

How much can you tell about a person from their taste in movies??

I realize there are classic, timeless films that certainly qualify as some of the best of all time.  I'm just saying there's other movies I'd rather pop into the DVD player six or seven times a year...

On "Classic" Films....
You're going to notice that nearly all of these movies, with the exceptions of Star Wars, Jaws, and Airplane!, are from the 80's, 90's and today.  I just have a hard time with older movies, especially black & white films....I don't know why.  I can barely watch new black and white films (Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Under the Cherry Moon, etc.), although I loved 'Clerks', and I cried at 'Schindler's List'.  So I suppose I've missed out on many "classics". To give you an idea of my knowledge of 'classic' films....I once thought that "Citizen Kane" was that guy in the movie "ALIEN" with the creature growing in his stomach... :)

Don't even ask me about what I thought happened when you have your tires rotated.  Technically, they're not being rotated, you know...they're being REVOLVED!

 Tell me if you think I've left out a great movie!!!  My memory isn't what it used  to be!

I'm still a big fan of animation; there are a bunch of animated features in my Top 40 films, including nearly everything Pixar has ever released.

I've also included one TV-movie (miniseries') in this list.  If you've seen Stephen King's "The Stand", you know it's almost as good as the book.

  Here's a list of my favorite movies:

The Best...

1 The Princess Bride, 1987 My name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father....prepare to die.  Stop saying that!  People can't stop quoting this movie.  Pirates, Swordfights, Monsters, Revenge, True Love... Great characters, a wonderful story... one of the few great films that could be described as "Fantasy Fiction".  Miracle Max and his wife Valerie are a riot too.  Great performances all the way around.

	2. When Harry Met Sally (1989, Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan...Yes yes yes yes!!) Wow, my favorite Carrie Fisher movie is NOT, in fact, Star Wars!  By now, Meg Ryan has teamed up with pretty much every leading man in Hollywood between 30 and 50 years old.  I think this is her best pairing.  Harry and Sally play off each other really well, they become best friends after a very long period of time, and they grow on each other!  A neat little love story.
	3 Say Anything, 1989 John Cusack, Ione Skye; "She gave me a pen...I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen"...a classic post-high-school love story.  "She's written 67 songs, Joe... 67 songs,  they're all about you...they're all about pain!"... "So what's your point?"  I'd rather Jim Cort didn't wind up in jail at the end, but oh well...)
	4 Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope, 1977... VISIT MY STAR WARS WEBPAGE! The movie all science fiction movies since have strived to emulate in popularity, effect, and longevity.  ID4 was touted as the "Star Wars of this generation".  This is also the only STAR WARS film that can stand on its own; it didn't need sequels and prequels to set up the story. Along with "The Princess Bride", one of the most quotable films in movie history.
	5 Beauty and the Beast (Animated, Disney, 1991).... VISIT MY BEAUTY AND THE BEAST WEBPAGE! Simply Disney's greatest animated masterpiece, and the only animated film to be nominated for Best Picture.  Belle is beautiful in many ways, smart, headstrong, and confident...not one-dimensional like certain other Disney heroines (every one of them from 1937-90)  Excellent score as well.  Even better in IMAX, with "Human Again" added.
	6 Star Wars: Episode V-The Empire Strikes Back, 1980 Harrison Ford is stellar, and the film is artistically the best of the four SW Films.  And of course, Darth Vader is still a badass... not nearly as whipped as he becomes in 'Return of the Jedi'.
	7 It Could Happen to You, 1992 A cop (Nicolas Cage) has no money for a tip, so he offers to split his lottery ticket winnings with his waitress, (Bridget Fonda); when his ticket wins later that evening, it becomes a $2M tip...dream come true film, and an interesting lesson in how money affects different people in different ways.  I hate watching the entire court scene, but still I watch this movie over and over.
	8  A Fish Called Wanda, 1987 Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, John Cleese; a riot from start to finish.  I didn't think the 'sequel', Fierce Creatures, was all that bad, but it's hardly ever shown on tv anymore... Don't call me stupid!
	9  The Wedding Singer, 1997 Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore; I really enjoyed this movie and the 80's soundtrack is incredible!  Not typical of most of Sandler's films, though I enjoyed The Waterboy and Happy Gilmore.  'Eight Crazy Nights' may be the worst film I have ever seen, other than 'Jaws 4 - The Revenge'.  Drew is at her cutest.
	10 Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (2004) I laughed my ass off.  Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn are great as adversaries.  I was surprised Will Ferrell didn't show up somewhere in this film.  And, this movie has brought about a resurgence of dodge ball all over the country, and maybe one day it'll be welcomed back into our schools, where it BELONGS.
	11 Mamma Mia! , 2008 ↑ When I first heard that Meryl Streep would be playing Donna in 'Mamma Mia!', I worried that she might be too old for the part.  I've seen the film four times in the theatre, and she totally blew me away each time.  This movie is so much fun to watch.  I brought different people with me each time to sing along and enjoy it together.  Amanda Seyfried is also terrific in her role as Sophie, although Pierce Brosnan couldn't carry a tune if it had a handle on it.  Just a wonderful adaptation of a great Broadway musical.
	12  Erin Brockovitch, 2000  Julia Roberts at her absolute best, and a very engrossing story.  I wanted to know more, and even found myself visiting the Masry & Vittitoe web site.  Sad to see Ed Masry passed away 12/05.
	13 Serendipity, 2003 I found this movie just looking through John Cusack's body of work on IMDB.com.  It's not Say Anything, but it's Cusack in familiar territory.  I have to admit I loved the ending.  It's what you spend the entire movie waiting for.
	14  The Matrix, 1998 Don't bring a kid who is prone to bathroom and concession stand visits to the theatre with you to see a film like this.  I missed about 8 minutes of the film the first time I saw it, and was totally clueless as to what was the deal with Neo and the Matrix.  For once, some absolute originality from Hollywood.  Let's hope the sequels are as good.
	15  Dogma, 1999 The Last Scion and her supernatural gang, plus Jay & Silent Bob, are off to stop two angels from utilizing a loophole that will allow them to get back into heaven and thus prove God wrong and unmake creation.  Kevin Smith directed a great one here.  Gotta love George Carlin as Cardinal Glick.  All you right wingers and bible thumpers who walked out of this movie....lighten up and chill !!!! :)
	16  Dave, 1992 Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver; a fresh idea for another presidential movie.  First major appearance of Ving Rhames, before his Radio Shack commercial days.
	17  Monsters, Inc., 2001 Sometimes Billy Crystal hits on all cylinders with his movies, and when he does, they're at the top of my list (Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally).  This one's up there too.  Great kid and adult humor, very cool out-takes, and a neat story idea. Originality from the Walt Disney Company... wow... please, WDC, no sequels...
	18 There's Something About Mary (1997) "We got a bleeder!"  The first movie that had me laughing so hard I was hurting.  I try to avoid going to comedy clubs because all the laughter makes the back of my head throb with pain... so did this movie.  What the hell WAS Brett Farve-rah doing there, anyway? : )
	19  The Cutting Edge, 1992 D.B. Sweeney, Moira Kelly; one of my two favorite sports films (if you consider Dodge Ball a sport) - great story of an ex-hockey player and washed up prima donna skater gunning for a gold medal in Albertville at the Olympics).  I think this movie ended about 5 minutes too early, though. I wanted to see them get their medals... the uninspired 2005 and 2008 sequels don't do this film justice.  The only worthwhile skating film I've seen since was "Ice Princess", starring the terminally cute Michelle Trachtenberg and Cheerleader Hero Hayden Panetierre.
	20 Music and Lyrics, 2007 ↑ Another great pairing for Drew Barrymore... she's incredibly endearing in romantic comedies, whether her love interest is Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon, Michael Vartan or, in this case, Hugh Grant.  A nice little film.  The soundtrack isn't bad, either -- who knew Hugh Grant could sing so well?  All I wanna do is find a way back into love...
	21 Rent, 2005 No day but today.  Loved this film.  Great adaptation of my favorite musical.  A musical about coping with life, love, friendship, and pain; and living for today.
	22 Ten Things I Hate About You, 1999 This movie is one of those TREASURES you find on video and can watch again and again.  A modern-day Taming of the Shrew set in a Seattle high school, Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger shine in this film that had me laughing and riveted to the TV from start to finish.   The 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' scene and the out-takes over the end credits are classic.  Such a shame about Ledger, gone way before his time.
	23 Notting Hill, 1999 As I get older, for some reason I seem to appreciate Julia Roberts more as an actress. The only problem I had with this film is that it had about five endings.  It could have ended simply as Anna finished her interview with the British press.
	24  Speed, 1991 Pop Quiz, hotshot...you want to make a sequel to a great action film, but your star, Keanu Reeves, isn't interested....what do you do?   what do you do?  Ok, the wrong thing in this case, but the original "Speed" is a nonstop action, tense, edge-of-your-seat movie.  Sandra Bullock's breakthrough hit.   The movie that got Dennis Hopper his role in 'Waterworld'....lucky guy.   Finally Keanu was no longer "Ted Theodore Logan".
	25. The Breakfast Club, 1985 The quintessential 80's movie, and the signature Brat Pack film.  'Could you describe the ruckus, sir?'
	26 Planes, Trains and Automobiles, 1987 I harken back to a scene of Steve Martin looking utterly petrified as two semi-trucks scrape along the sides of his car, and John Candy becomes the devil in the driver's seat.  One of the best Thanksgiving-themed films, though the holiday isn't the focal point of the film.  My son absolutely LOVED this film.
	27 National Treasure, 2004 As far-fetched as some of the concepts in this movie were, if you can suspend belief for 2 hours, this movie is one hell of a ride.  Another holy grail movie of sorts... The sequel wasn't up to this movie, and it stretched believability to its ultimate limits.
	28  Fools Rush In, 1997 Matthew Perry, Salma Hayek; a great romantic comedy, best film with the Hoover Dam that I've ever seen...considering that the only other I can think of offhand is "Vegas Vacation"...  I did think Alex's parents were pretty shallow caricatures of wealthy 'gringo' parents, though.
	29  Independence Day, 1996 Once referred to as this generation's Star Wars, ID4 is still thrilling to watch.  It leaves me wanting more... more scenes of the alien ships, shots from space, news reports from around the world, more destruction, etc.. This film would be tough to build a sequel around, but the original stands well on its own after nearly 10 years.
	30 Office Space, 1993 ↑ Dang, I forgot to put the cover sheet on my TPS Reports again!  This film was the ultimate microcosm of life in the Dilbert-like office cubicle dweller world.  Sometimes I wish I could smash my fax machine to pieces with a baseball bat - what a treat it was to see it happen on the big screen!  Well I'm off to try out my new Jump to Conclusions Mat...

31 Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion, 1997
Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino had great chemistry in this movie... they reminded me of a Laverne & Shirley for the big screen.  A girl power movie for everyone who lives life on their own terms.

32 Pirates of the Caribbean - Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003
One day Johnny Depp will win an Oscar.  It can't be far off.  He's one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood and wow, what a range of parts he has played. Now that the trilogy is over, Captain Jack Sparrow is as much a household name as Indiana Jones.

33 Stephen King's The Stand, 1994
Yes, it was a TV-movie miniseries.  How else could it have been released without losing something in the translation?  I've watched The Stand over and over again.  There's something enticing about movies about the end of the world... maybe it's that I wouldn't have to pay all those credit card bills anymore :).  I was intrigued by the rebuilding process, and how the community of Boulder managed to survive and overcome the Dark Man.  Terrific performances by Gary Sinise, Adam Storke (who should have had a much bigger career), Bill Fingerbakke, Ray Walston, and of course Jamey Sheridan as Randall Flagg.

34 Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986
This was the last film I saw in Massachusetts before I moved to Arizona.  I was about to graduate high school, and had taken a 'personal day' a few weeks before graduation.  I didn't have nearly as much fun as Ferris did, but don't we all deserve a day off once in a while?  As much as this is Matthew Broderick's signature movie, Alan Ruck delivered a stellar performance as Cameron Frye, the perfect counterpart to Ferris's unbridled wit and bravado.

35 Die Hard, 1989
The movie that defined Bruce Willis as an action movie hero and launched the career of Alan Rickman as the distinguished bad-guy Brit.  It's not hard to see Hans Gruber lurking in the eyes of Severus Snape.  Willis is the champion of the blue-collar hero film (see: Armageddon) but this film is just so well put together, it's a pleasure to watch over and over.

36 Road Trip, 1999
Road Trip is one of those dopey movies that show up on Saturday afternoons on TBS regularly, yet it's difficult to change the channel.  Tom Green is actually bearable in this film, probably because he's not part of the main plotline.  Breckin Meyer will never be an A-list, $200 million film actor, but he is quietly stringing together a decent resume of minor hits (Road Trip, Rat Race, Garfield, Herbie Fully Loaded, Clueless).  There's also the Stifler factor.  Sean William Scott is basically reviving his American Pie character for this film.  And then there's DJ Qualls, who was fun to watch, but thin enough to worry the audience that maybe anorexia isn't just a girls' disorder.

37 Spaceballs, 1987
Along with The Princess Bride and Star Wars, one of the most quoted films of my generation.  "Spaceballs, the breakfast cereal... Spaceballs, the Flamethrower!  Spaceballs, the Web Site!"  I'd place it up there with Mel Brooks' funniest films.  They tell me it should fit in behind Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and The Producers, but I say otherwise :).  Funny, she doesn't look Druish...

38 Galaxy Quest, 1999
I laughed my ass off throughout this film.  The takeoff on Star Trek is hilarious.  Again, the talented Alan Rickman turns in a great performance as Dr. Lazarus. 

39 What Happens in Vegas (2008)
This is one of those films that just had me laughing out loud throughout, and that alone is usually enough to get a movie into my Top 60 of all time.  How does Cameron Diaz still manage to look so young?  Wasn't There's Something About Mary done about 12 years ago??  And Ashton Kutcher does a great job of playing the bachelor hero, the 'everyman' kind of guy.  In a way though, the show is stolen by the guy and gal who play the 'best friends' in this film.  They were hilarious.

40 National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, 1992
The best of the Vacation franchise films.  A staple for my holiday viewing.  The squirrel-in-the-tree scene makes me giggle every time I see it.

41 Airplane! (1979)
One of the most quotable movies ever.  I do love my quotable films.  I'm surprised they haven't made four or five of these films.  A lot of the jokes used in this film would never fly today, but they are side-splittingly funny.

42 Groundhog Day (1993)
It's 15 years later, and still the term 'Groundhog Day' gets associated with the feeling of reliving certain moments in your life.  I miss the days of wacky frontman performances by Bill Murray, who seems to have aged beyond belief while I wasn't paying attention. 

43 Enchanted (2007)
Disney does a super job in this film, combining live action and animation -- Patrick Dempsey is his usual self (swoon!) and Amy Adams is a true find.  She made this movie the success it's become.

44 Stand and Deliver (1989)
This film ought to be shown in math classrooms around the country.  Though it's nearly 20 years old, it's timeless in stressing the importance of math in school, and in life.  Almost every career requires some degree of math to be successful; this story is an inspiration to inner city kids, minorities, and anyone who is on the fence about continuing their education.

45 Return to Me (2001)
Despite my belief that the heart is simply an organ like the liver or stomach, and the real center of human emotion and love is in the brain, this film is still enchanting, not only focusing on the budding romance between the heart transplant patient and her donor's husband, but also the husband's grief over his wife's death, and his struggle to move on.

46 Defending Your Life (1990) ↑
If this is what death is like, I'm totally on board with it.  Though I don't know how Albert Brooks ever became a big star.  Certainly not by looks -- but very likely by how bright he is.  He reminds me of a palatable Woody Allen.  This is my 2nd favorite Meryl Streep movie, behind her wonderful performance in Mamma Mia!

47 The Lion King (1994)
Arguably Disney's greatest masterpiece (other than Beauty and the Beast!).  Though they may have borrowed liberally from Japanese Anime (Kimba the White Lion, Tezuka's Lion on a Rock), Disney put together a great storyline, interesting characters, and enough humor and action to keep adults tuned in.  Jeremy Irons played Scar to a tee, a near-perfect performance.

48 Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Everything about this movie is alluring - Eddie Murphy's performance, the storyline, the soundtrack, the jokes... does that 'banana in the tailpipe' thing really work?

49 Splash (1984)
As much as they say "Big" was the movie that launched Tom Hanks as a superstar, I think back to this wonderful gem by Ron Howard.  Darryl Hannah shines as Madison the mermaid, and this is also Eugene Levy's best cinematic performance, edging out his role as Jim's dad in the original American Pie.

50 Stakeout (1987)
Whenever I think of this movie, it's hard not to picture Emilio Estevez with that caterpillar on his upper lip, one of the worst mustaches in cinematic history.  This film happened at what was probably the peak of Richard Dreyfus' career (1975-88); after Jaws, he was suddenly in demand for big budget films, and 'Down & Out in Beverly Hills' made him a comedy role star as well.  You had to love Aidan Quinn as the bad boy, too.