Monday, February 28, 2011

Favorite Movies


Confession #1: I get a little caught up in the Academy Awards hype. From the time I was walking and talking I was raised to admire pretty dresses, whether it be watching the Miss America pageant or getting up in the middle of the night to watch Princess Diana's wedding live. So it's natural that I'm a little attracted to the glam of the awards, even though my daily uniform of tee shirt, sweat pants, and fuzzy socks is far from glamorous.

Confession #2: Because of Confession #1, I usually buy a People magazine once a year -- the Academy Awards issue -- so I can get my pretty dress fix. This year I have a self-imposed ban on purchasing magazines, so I will have to make a trip to the library later this week.

But none of that has to do with why last night I turned on our television for the first time in . . . maybe all of 2011 . . . to watch the actual awards. Instead of the dresses being the attraction (I'd much rather quickly flip through People than watching the awards for hours), I watched because I loved The King's Speech. I worked on homeschool planning while the film was given awards for the categories of Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Film.

Marc and I went to see The King's Speech in December for our anniversary, and when we left the theatre I commented that I thought it would make my top ten list of all-time-favorite films. Upon further reflection, I realized I don't actually have ten all-time-favorites, so it's been promoted to the top five. I thought for fun I'd share my list.

  1. The Sound of Music. I have loved this movie for as long as I can remember. We watch it as a family every year for my birthday -- a tradition we started, I think, even before the kids were born.
  2. The Shawshank Redemption. I've probably watched this movie more than a dozen times, but I will never, ever get tired of it. (After these two, the order of my favorites is arbitrary.)
  3. Henry V. Music is what really makes a film special to me, so combine a great score with Kenneth Branagh's amazing acting, and even I can get past the intimidation of Shakespeare.
  4. Mr. Holland's Opus. Being the daughter of a public school art teacher and now a mom of a child with special needs, this film still stays with me.
  5. The King's Speech. Comes out on DVD in April, so please see it, if you haven't already. I know some people are wary because of the bad language used in a couple of scenes, but Marc and I were not offended and thought it was perfectly in context because the point was that it was supposed to be out of character. If you want more detail, feel free to email me. And pay special attention to the music in the final speech (Beethoven) -- every note and word seems perfectly timed. Many critics have noted the irony of using German music, but it's absolutely my favorite part of the movie.
If I were to continue my list of favorites, it would be very heavy on war movies -- probably because of my life-long love of history. I love chick flicks too, but they don't tend to stay in my long term memory. Oh, and since the first time I saw a Star Wars movie as a kid, Harrison Ford has been my hero, so just about anything with him is sure to please me.

What about you? What are your favorite movies? Have you seen The King's Speech?

4 comments:

  1. I was SHOCKED at how much I enjoyed The King's Speech!! I had not seen many previews of it and my dh just said we should see it. I intend to buy the dvd as soon as it comes out. I thought the plot was wonderful and Colin Firth did an amazing job portraying such a difficult problem.
    I was glad that it did so well at the awards!
    Andrea

    ps. I like to look at the pretty dresses too - lol!

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  2. I feel the exact.same.way about The King's Speech. I have adored Colin Firth ever since seeing him as Mr. Darcy. :)

    I also enjoy the Academy Awards but thought last night's show was just terrible. Anne and James need to stick with their day jobs!

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  3. I don't get to an actual movie theater very often so I have to wait to see The King's Speech, but I have to say Shindler's List and Chariots of Fire rank at the top of my list (along with Singing in the Rain & Mary Poppins). BBCs Pride & Prejudice is also an all time favorite of mine.

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  4. I am back online and get to comment at your blog again! :)

    I have not seen The King's Speech but thought it looked good. I really like Colin Firth, too, and am glad he won an Oscar. He just deserves it for being so talented.

    I have never been able to put together a list of favorite movies, not because I don't like movies but bc I have a hard time narrowing things down. Ones that come to mind as faves are Amazing Grace and Back to the Future. That tells you how wide my range is! :)

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