The other day I talked about how my favorite song changes from day to day. Well, the same goes with my favorite movie... Well, maybe not EVERY day, but every time I see a really good movie. Let's start with some of my favorite comedies:
Dogma: A really awesome satire on organized religion that has a very important message if you can just look past all the "offensive" surface material: have faith in something, and don't judge others for believing differently.
Down Periscope: I love Kesley Grammer, but really, who doesn't? This is an awesome, underdog comedy about submarines!
Laugh It Up Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy: A parody of the original Star Wars trilogy like only Family Guy could do.
Julie & Julia: Based on the life and cooking of Julia Childs, this comedic biography is juxtaposed against modern day blogger Julie Powell's attempt to cook all the recipes in Childs' first cook book in a single year.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: I just love everything Robert Downey Jr. is in, including this hilarious murder mystery that has more twists than Lady Gaga has outfits.
Liar Liar: I just love some of the things Jim Carrey is in (really, he shines in dramatic roles) but this is one of his best comedies about a lawyer and distant divorced dad who cannot tell a lie for a whole day.
Miss Congeniality: I love everything Sandra Bullock has been in, especially this comedy about a frumpy FBI agent who must, with the help of a pageant coach played by the incredible Michael Caine, get in touch with her feminine side and go undercover at the Miss United States Pageant to prevent it from being bombed.
My Best Friend's Wedding: Julia Roberts and her forehead vein are incredible in every movie they act in, including this mad attempt on the part of a jealous former lover to break up her best friend and his new, young, cute fiance (played by the equally talented Cameron Diaz) before they can throw the biggest wedding Chicago has ever seen.
Out to Sea: The late Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau were incredible in their comedic chemistry, and this comedy about two retired old men seeking adventure and perhaps love, by signing up as dance hosts for a Mexican cruise, is no exception.
Rat Race: It's a race to get money from a locker in a train station several hundred miles away from Las Vegas while high rollers bet on their progress. Need I say more? It's awesome. Just watch it.
Favorite Dramas:
American Beauty: Centered around the mid-life crisis of Lester Burnham, a disgruntled white collar employee, husband, and father, this aesthetic film begs the question: what do we live for and why is life worth living? Is it for money, status, large houses and nice cars? Or is it for love, relationships, and good feelings?
Angels in America: Set during the AIDS crisis of the mid-80s, this multi-main character drama explores illness, power, love, prestige, religion, and the political dynamics of being in and out of the closet.
Brokeback Mountain: A deeply misunderstood film about forbidden love between two cowboys, Brokeback Mountain is nothing more than a potent look at the power true love has, both good and bad. Both extremely fulfilling and extremely painful, forbidden love has the power to make us cheat and sacrifice, lie and cherish. And once you have loved, you will never forget.
Contact: Perhaps my favorite movie of all time, this incredible film looks at the often strained relationship between science and faith in the context of an apparent message from aliens discovered by atheist SETI scientist Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster), who ends up traveling to a distant planet in the blink of an eye and then has only her own subjective experience of the event to offer as proof of her journey. In the end, it is her faith in her own senses that allows her to empathize with her love interest, Reverend Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), whose faith in God is increasingly questioned and challenged in modern times.
The Count of Monte Cristo: An incredibly well-done abridgment of Alexandre Dumas' classic tale exploring themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy and forgiveness.
Crash: This incredible, modern, multi-main character drama explores racial and social tensions in Los Angeles.
Gattaca: A sort of Cinderella tale of the future, Gattaca explores a future world dominated by liberal eugenics, which determines people's social class. A non-genetically engineered man defies all odds by masquerading as a genetically-enhanced man and becoming an astronaut.
Latter Days: A gay Mormon missionary comes out on his mission when he meets the man of his dreams, and manages to spook the gay shallowness out of him. Awesome drama about the uplifting and oppressive power of religion and love.
Letters to Juliet: Really, who can't adore Amanda Seyfried? She plays an American fact-checker for the New Yorker magazine whose distant Italian fiance is much more interested in his new restaurant than he is in her. When the two visit Verona for a pre-honeymoon, Seyfried's character discovers the magical world of answering letters to Juliet, and gets caught up in a romance with the beautiful British Charlie (Chris Egan) while the pair help Charlie's grandmother track down an old, lost love. It is truly one of the most adorable romantic comedies I have ever seen. Go see it. Now.
The Majestic: By far Jim Carrey's best dramatic role (and perhaps his best performance in a film ever), this tear-jerker is about an amnesic screenwriter who becomes a small town hero for his resemblance to a fallen WWII war hero.
Memento: Also about amnesia, this is a drama told in reverse order. I can't explain it any better than that. Just see it. It's awesome and one of the most unique films ever.
Million Dollar Baby: Boxing trainer Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) helps aspiring boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) achieve her dream of becoming a professional, when Fitzgerald suffers a paralyzing accident.
Patch Adams: Robin Williams depicts the medical doctor Hunter "Patch" Adams, whose unconventional and humorous approach to medicine makes him an instant celebrity.
The Prestige: Two rival stage magicians compete to create the best illusions and get caught up in issues of love and vengeance, too.
Pride & Prejudice: An incredibly well-done screen adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are clearly madly in love with each other, but struggle to overcome their own pride and prejudice to admit their feelings.
The Silence of the Lambs: Imprisoned cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) helps FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) track down serial killer (and skinner) Buffalo Bill. Bad ass classic film. 'Nuff said.
Red Dragon: Sequel to the not so great Hannibal, which was a sequel to Silence of the Lambs. This time, FBI agent Will Graham is tracking down a serial killer targeting families, again with the help of Lecter (Hopkins).
Shelter: Surfer Zach finds himself in a stressful supportive role for his ailing father and irresponsible sister, whose five year old son Cody becomes basically Zach's sole responsibility. When Zach reunites with the brother, Shaun, of longtime friend Gabe, his sister, Jeanne, starts to question his loyalty to the family and other aspects of his life, as well. Zach and Shaun become fast friends and surfer buddies, and quickly fall in love. In order to provide a good home for Cody and save him from an uncaring boyfriend of Jeanne's, Zach and Shaun agree to let him come live with them while Zach pursues his dream of going to art school. This beautiful coming of age and coming out story explores themes of identity, friendship, love, loyalty, and aspiration.
Sideways: An awesome drama about, among other things, delicious red wine...
Slumdog Millionaire: Growing up homeless in the slums of Mumbai teaches Jamal Malik all he needs to know to win the grand prize on the Indian version of hit TV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Titanic: A love story meets a disaster story. But you all know the story. It's just a very beautifully done film, and Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio deliver knockdown incredible performances.
Traffic: A film about illegal drug trade, explored from multiple perspectives, including a user, an enforcer, a politician, and a traffiker, whose lives become intertwined though they never meet.
Under the Tuscan Sun: A San Franciscan writer who is recently divorced moves to Tuscany and starts a new, exciting life.
Favorite Musicals:
Hairspray: What do I have to say about this one? Great music, great hair, and James Marsden *drool*... Racial integration in the context of awesome music! Gotta love it!
Mamma Mia!: Let's face it, the story is pretty much fluff. The meat of the movie is the ABBA music. But the story is cute, too. Sophie is getting married and wants to know who her real father is, and therefore invites three former boyfriends of her mother, without her knowledge, to the wedding to try to uncover the truth!
Moulin Rouge: Great music, not really sure what the story's about. Love it. Ewan McGregor has a great voice!
The Producers and Rent: My two favorite gay musicals!
Seeing as how I've commented on every single one of my favorite drama and comedies, I will select just a few from my favorite Action/Epic movies to comment on.
Favorite Action/Epic Movies:
Angels & Demons: Based on Dan Brown's novel about symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) who has to stop the secret society the Illuminati, from destroying Vatican City with antimatter. Seriously, it's way better and less geeky than it sounds.
Batman Begins
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum: Just have to say this about the entire Bourne series: Matt Damon kicks ass in this adventure series about a U.S. government assasin who fails to kill one of his targets, loses his memory, and then attempts to piece his life back together.
Casino Royale
The Dark Knight
The DaVinci Code: Another Dan Brown adaptation, about the supposed unbroken line of Jesus Christ, who according to Brown, actually did have descendents, which is a closely guarded secret.
The Fugitive
Goldeneye
Gone in 60 Seconds: Nicholas Cage is an awesome actor, and this action film about a big car boost to save his younger brother's life is just a lot of fun!
Inception: If you haven't seen it, you have to. It's about dreams within dreams within dreams (within dreams). And it is about trying to convince people that ideas that come from you actually come from their own subconscious. Really deep and awesome.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The Italian Job
Jurassic Park
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Matrix
Minority Report
National Treasure: Sort of the American version of The DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons, this treasure hunt movie starring Nicholas Cage is a fun adventure.
Ocean's Eleven: The sequels aren't so good, but this original plot to stage a heist and steal millions from a Vegas casino is pretty damn cool, I have to say.
Pirates of the Carribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pulp Fiction
Quantum of Solace
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Recruit: A really awesome spy thriller film starring Al Pacino and Colin Farrell.
Sneakers: Another of my favorite films of all time, this caper film starring Robert Redford deals with computer encryption technology and how it can be used and abused, and how a team of security system testers work together to prevent a man, Cosmo, (Ben Kingsley) gone mad by prison time, from helping an organized crime syndacite hack into computer systems for nefarious purposes, as well as keeping Martin (Redford) out of prison for hacking he and Cosmo did as college students.
Spider-Man
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Nemesis
Star Trek (2009): To be honest, this is probably my favorite Star Trek movie to date. The others listed here are all excellent, but the new Chris Pine/Zachary Quinto Star Trek franchise is just heating up and damn, they have good writing, acting, cinematography, the works. In this reboot oof the classic Trek franchise, an alternate reality is create by disgruntled Romulan Nero, who destroys the planet Vulcan with red matter, a technology that can create a blackhole large enough to consume an entire planet. Kirk (Pine) and Spock (Quinto) must then prevent Nero from destroying Earth in a similar fashion.
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: As far as I am concerned, the only film from the prequel trilogy that was worth watching more than once. A very dark, Empire Strikes Back-style film, Revenge of the Sith deals mainly with Anikan's fall to the dark side and becoming Darth Vader, as well as the formation of the Galactic Empire and the rise to power of the evil sith Emperor Palpatine.
Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
S.W.A.T.
Taken: Liam Neeson kicks ass. He hunts down human traffikers who have abducted his daughter and kills them all. 'Nuff said.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy
Tomorrow Never Dies
U571: Really awesome submarine movie about an undercover operation by the American military to break Nazi codes by stealing their Enigma encrypter device thingy.
V for Vendetta: "Remember, Remember the Fifth of November, gunpowder treason and plot. I can think of no reason the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot." The mysterious "terrorist" V, dissatisfied with the increasingly corrupt and oppressive government of England, hijacks the media, blows stuff up, and generally is a badass. In the end, the evil government is overthrown by the newly enlightened populace.
The World is Not Enough
Favorite Thrillers:
Psycho
What Lies Beneath (only because seeing Harrison Ford go on an insane, maddened killing spree is excruciatingly hilarious)
So yeah, those are a few of my favorite films and why I love them. Again, it is really hard to pick a single favorite because they are all so incredible. Plus it just kind of depends what I'm in the mood for when I want to watch a movie. Film has such power: to convey feelings, ideas, opinions, values, to explore different facets of the human condition, or just to show the audience a good time. I love film.
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