I love watching movies (as you can see here), and a two weeks ago I started a trial Netflix membership. [The post won’t be about Netflix, but I do have to say – I’m loving it. It’s a one month trial, and we can have one DVD at a time. The real win for me, though, is that we can watch tons of movies straight from their site (not all, but quite a bit), and we can also stream the movies through our Wii onto our TV. God is good!] [As a second aside, I’ve rated 685 movies that I’ve seen on Netflix. I may need help :)]
I also just recently found a blog by Robert Gelinas (the Jazz Theologian) – in one of his posts he lists his top 15 favorite movies of all times, so I am blatantly stealing the idea and posting mine. This is a list of movies I’ve seen that I would buy and watch over and over again. If I was stranded on a deserted island (along with a nice big screen, DVD player, and electricity, of course) . . . . these are the movies I would have (in no particular order):
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – I loved reading and re-reading the books, and the movies are ones I can watch over and over again as well. I love the scenery, the fantasy, and the conflict of good and evil.
- The Star Wars movies – except for the horrible fiasco that was the romance scenes between Anikin and Amidala, these films will always hold a special place in my heart. I loved the originals as a kid, and I loved the newer ones as an adult. And I love the way “May the Force be with you” sounds so, so Catholic :)
- The Matrix Trilogy – the first film is my favorite. I have wonderful memories of watching this movie with my youngest brother and being blown away by the first scene, then being blown away again with the training sequence fight. Wire-fu at it’s finest :)
- Oscar – if you’ve never seen this comedy starting Sylvester Stallone and a whole host of other famous faces, go rent it now. One of the few comedies that my wife loves to watch (our humor tends to run in different directions!).
- The Princess Bride – I fell in love with this movie when I first saw it, and it was one of the first DVD’s I ever purchased. A romantic fantasy/comedy/buddy movie that is intelligent and warm hearted. I love it :)
- A Knight’s Tale – Fantasy again (see a trend?) with a touch of comedy – I loved the juxtaposition of modern music and sensibilites with the medieval trappings of jousting tournaments and politics. It helps that good triumphs over evil as well :)
- A Man for All Seasons – an older movie that I first saw in High School. It made an impression on me seeing St. Thomas More standing up for his beliefs with passion, courage and intellect.
- Romero – same as above. He has been a hero for me ever since I saw the movie and learned more about his life.
- What Dreams May Come – this movie still evokes deep emotions when I watch it. A tale of love, loss and redemption.
- Meet Joe Black – I saw this movie around the same time as #10. It tells the tale of Death becoming human to experience what human life is like. It gives an innocent’s take on the everyday blessings we tend to take for granted, and is a reminder to cherish the gift of life while we have it.
- My Cousin Vinny – I love the courtroom drama, the relationship drama (“And your [stomp, stomp] biological clock is ticking!”), and the relationship between lawyer and judge.
- Office Space – I recommended this movie to our former Assistant Principal, not knowing that the soundtrack to the movie was so peppered with . . . colorful words :) (I had only ever seen it on network TV before that!) I love the nonchalant way that the main character approaches life for the better part of the movie, and the way it subtly parodies modern life and our preoccupation with status, wealth, and control.
- Schindler’s List – the conversion and courage of one human is front and center in this drama that makes me remember that one candle is better then cursing the darkness.
- A Tale of Two Sisters – The only horror/thriller on here, it’s a twisted tale (not for kids or the faint of heart) that will have you watching it again after you see the ending.
And that’s my list :) There are many other movies that I enjoy watching (the whole genre of stupid parodies [Airplane, Hot Shots, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Top Secret, etc. comes to mind!], but if I was limited to fifteen, I could live well with this collection here.
What about you?
Blessings & Peace,
Hugo
