My Favorite Movies

A girl at church asked me to make a list of my favorite movies (she hasn't seen a lot of movies) Being a geek, that's what I did.  Here they are.

Comedy

The Princess Bride – Funny fairy tale with derring-do.  Extremely quotable.

Groundhog Day – Bill Murray at his absolute best as he’s stuck in the same town, on the same day, day after day after day.

City Slickers – Billy Crystal’s one great movie where he leaves the city and visits a dude ranch to try to find his missing smile.

Ghostbusters – one of the funniest and most quotable movies of all time.  Careful – quote one line and people around you will s tart quoting a bunch of others. 

Monty Python and the Holy Grail – the other funniest and most quotable movie of all time.  King Arthur and his knights travel the land seeking the holy grail and acting very silly.

Arthur (the original) – also one of the funniest movies of all time.  This Arthur has to decide if he wants millions of dollars or true love.

Joe vs the Volcano – just a silly treat with Tom Hanks and multiple Meg Ryans.

Wayne’s World – I saw this in the theater more than any other movie.

There’s Something About Mary – shock comedy – must be watched with a group for full effect.

Harold and Maude – one of the quirkiest comedies I’ve ever seen – a young man and an old woman strike up an unlikely relationship.

Romantic Comedy

Love, Actually – Romantic comedy with multiple, intertwining storylines, each of which will move you.

My Best Friend’s Wedding – I call this the anti-romantic comedy.  It’s one of my very favorites.

Much Ado About Nothing – Joss Whedon shot this on a shoestring budget in his own house.  If you like Shakespeare, this is the good stuff.

Science Fiction

Star Wars – the original (which is episode IV) – because it’s a permanent part of our pop culture.  And while the first half hour can seem a little slow by our modern sensibilities, this is the movie that changed the pace of all movies that followed it.  If you enjoy it, move on to episodes V and VI.

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan – if you’re going to see one Star Trek movie, this should be it.  Yes, you can skip the first one.

Back to the Future – wacky time travel adventure that never takes itself too seriously.

Independence Day – an action adventure alien invasion story with kick-ass Will Smith and dreamy Jeff Goldblum.

Serenity – sci-fi western about a roguish captain with a heart of gold and his fascinating crew.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure - goofy guys.  Time travel.  What's not to love?

Horror

Aliens - space marines hunt for aliens.  Then the aliens hunt the space marines.  And Sigourney Weaver kicks serious ass.

Poltergeist (the original) - this, to me, is the scariest movie of all time.  I think because it marries horror with that Speilbergian sense of childhood familiarity.

Action/Adventure

Raiders of the Lost Ark – also a permanent part of our pop culture.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – yes, all three.  Once you watch the first one, you’ll want to watch the rest.

Die Hard – this is the action movie that all other action movies are trying to be.

Thriller

Memento – Creepy (but not scary) vibe and it tells the story in a way no other movie does - backwards.  Our hero can only hold on to memories for a minute or so at a time – so how does he solve his wife’s murder?  Should have won best picture …

The Sixth Sense – supernatural thriller about a boy who sees dead people.

Musical

Moulin Rouge – Gorgeous cinematography, crazy dancing and singing and a love story for the ages.

Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog – OK, it’s not a movie, it’s a 3 episode web series.  But it may be my favorite bit of entertainment ever.  Seriously – ever.

The Sound of Music – pretty much the greatest musical ever made.

Mary Poppins – she’s practically perfect in every way.

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut – if you’re OK with profanity (a lot) and crass humor, the guys that made this are, frankly, geniuses.  Four cartoon kids save the world from their moms and Satan.

The Muppets (2011) – heartwarming and funny – the muppets try to save their theater by putting on a big show!

Singin’ In the Rain – just singin’ and dancin’ in the rain – the best of the early musicals.

Kids/Family

The Incredibles – my favorite of the Pixar movies (which is difficult, because they have so many good ones) gives us superheroes and familial love.

Frozen – I love the positive messages in this one.  I devoted an entire blog to it.

Goonies – a bunch of kids on an adventure looking for a pirate ship.

Speed Racer – candy-coated visuals and action adventure fun.  With a monkey!

It's a Wonderful Life - a man gets to see what the world would be like if he'd never been born.

The Wizard of Oz – gorgeous to look at, this is the moment when the movies switched from black and white to color.