An interesting question was posted on Facebook the other day. It said something like this: What movies have you watched more than five times and still enjoy watching? I’m a big movie fan so this got me thinking.
I first thought, what movie was my favorite as a child? Keep in mind that when I was a child, it was a big deal to go the movies. We didn’t have DVDs or Blu-Ray to watch our favorite movies over and over again. We couldn’t DVR shows on TV to watch again or watch later at our convenience. We couldn’t even pause a show to go to the bathroom. We ran for it during commercials and did our thing as quickly as we could so we wouldn’t miss when the show returned. Our choices were to either watch what was on TV when it aired (from four available channels) or go to the movie theater. And that was always a special occasion. So my favorite movie as a child was The Three Lives of Thomasina, a non-animated Disney movie. If memory serves me right, it was told from the perspective of the girl’s cat. It was a sweet, feel good movie. I’m sure if we had VHS back then, I would have worn out the tape.
As an adult, it’s so hard to pick my top five or even my top ten favorite movies.Some movies are amazing because of the story telling and sometimes the brilliant twists. (If I had to bet on it, I’d bet most authors are movie lovers. It’s just another way to tell a great story but with the use of other tools. Often when I’m writing, I find myself visualizing my story in a movie format. It helps make the story and characters come alive for me.) Other favorite movies are because of the cinematography. Other times it’s a character or situation that resonates with me. Then there’s the addition of the music, the location, the lighting….Usually it’s a combination of reasons.
Even though I’m a big fan of movies, somehow I’m not a big fan of the movies picked by critics. I just like certain movies because I like them. It’s a personal thing. So listed below are some of my favorites (in no particular order), although if you asked me next week, some of my choices would probably be different. I’m sure there’s some I’ve missed, those movies that will come to mind as soon as I post this. If you haven’t seen some of these, check them out! Let me know what you think. And, tell me, what are your favorite movies?
The Shawshank Redemption
Inception
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Message in a Bottle
Under the Tuscan Sun
Vantage Point
The Tourist
The Illusionist
Legends of the Fall
The Postman
*The movies, characters, artwork and such are the properties of their respective studios.