Day 4

Today's post might actually be harder than yesterdays! The challenge is Top Ten Favorite Movies, the hard part is that I LOVE movies and pareing it down to ten is almost impossible. However, I will do my level best.

1. Persuasion; "All the privilege I claim for my own sex is that of loving longest, when all hope is gone"-Anne Elliot I have read the book, and own both versions and I adore this movie. It is a beautiful story about love lost and refound, along with a healthy dose of human stupidity (her family is nuts). Plus when you have leading men like Rupert Penry-Jones and Cirian Hinds, what girl wouldn't give up everything in the end to be with them?

2. Amalie; "I had two heart attacks, an abortion, did crack... while I was pregnant. Other than that, I'm fine." If I'm not having a great day, I watch this movie. I think I have seen it twenty times or more. Amalie is so spunky, but so shy that I think we all can identify with her. She loves from the sidelines, and it isn't til the last ten minutes that she actually gets the guy. The supporting cast is incredible and its beautifully shot. It just makes my  heart happy. Also the gnome is genius, look what it did for Travelocity!

3. The Great Escape; Ramsey: "Colonel Von Luger, it is the sworn duty of all officers to try to escape. If they cannot escape, then it is their sworn duty to cause the enemy to use an inordinate number of troops to guard them, and their sworn duty to harass the enemy to the best of their ability." Ok. First of all Steve McQueen is brilliant in this movie. He actually has a relatively minor role but every scene he is, he steals it. However, the rest of the cast is so vivid that its hard not to ignore them either. James Gardner, Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, the list goes on. This is really a who's who of the male acting world of th 60's. Its such an extrodinary situation and such desperate times that their inginueity is amazing. There is always something new when I watch it, some dialogue I've heard a million times that I never caught the nuance til now. Brilliant.

4. Ghost Ship; Jack Ferriman: "Last month I was out in the middle of the Strait when I came across this."
Epps: Congratulations. "You found a boat. In the middle of the ocean, of all places."  I don't usually love scary movies and really the most intense moments of this movie is the opening sequence. I think I love the fact that it kind of plays at being a scary movie and it has an interesting moral twist at the end. Plus I love Gabriel Byrne. The most laughable part is that its set in the Bering Sea (though they try and keep that vague because there is nothing to really tie it AK other than the Alaskan Ambers they sip in the bar), but its one of the few of the genre I watch over and over.

5. Quills; Madeleine: "If I wasn't such a bad woman on the page, I couldn't be such a good woman in life." First of all, stellar cast, Geoffery Rush, Joaquin Pheonix, Kate Winslet, Michael Caine, and the then relatively unknown Stephen Moyer. Quills is admittedly more about sex than anything, but also about the effect written word can have on people. Rush does a pretty charged Marquis de Sade. Between him and Phoenix, Kate doesn't have a chance, a girl could be so lucky! The movie ends tragically, but I love the role reversal, just adds to the complexity of the characters. How they sink into themselves and loose all moral constraints is very real and unfortunately happens often.

6. Boondock Saints; Paul Smecker: "Television. Television is the explanation for this - you see this in bad television. Little assault guys creeping through the vents, coming in through the ceiling - that James Bond shit never happens in real life! Professionals don't do that!" First of all, who can't fall in love with two hot revenge seeking Irish men? Honestly? Add in Willem Dafoe, and Bill Connelly and its a winner. The second movie was watchable, but nowhere near as great as this one. The only thing is, I wish they talked every minute of the movie. I can't get enough of the accent.

7. North to Alaska; Sam McCord: "George, a wonderful thing about Alaska is that matrimony hasn't hit up here yet. Let's keep it a free country!" I can't have a top movie list without a John Wayne movie. I love this man. When I say love, I mean that I literally wanted to marry him when I was little. I didnt know then that things like cancer and old age would have a damper on that relationship. I like almost every movie of his I have seen. North to Alaska is great because its totally shot in Cali and Nome never looked like that on its best days. Its just a fun movie, and of course he gets the girl!

8. Stardust; Yvaine: [sarcastically] "But of course! Nothing says "romance" like the gift of a kidnapped injured woman! I'm not going anywhere with you!" I love this movie, I know, romance (your lucky I didn't do a top ten list of those. There's an idea!) but its adorable. It's also a coming of age story and those are always endearing. Add in the fantasy element and you have a winner. I think the best part really is the dialogue. It's actually rather witty and smart. They also are great on the delivery which helps keep the pace of the movie really tight. Good for rainy days and blankets.

9. The Blade Movies (I know this is three but forgive me); Hannibal King: "In the movies, Dracula wears a cape, and some old English guy always manages to save the day at the last minute with crosses and holy water. But everybody knows the movies are full of shit. The truth is, it started with Blade, and it ended with him. The rest of us were just along for the ride." Ok, you have to forgive me because the series really has to be viewed as a whole. One and three redeem two which is ok, but nothing like the first and last. Which is kind odd for a trilogy, but not unheard of. Somepeople could say that of the second half of the Star Wars movies (Empire Strikes Back will always be my personal fave) but I digress. I have to have a vampire movie in this and these are a good look at the genre. Snipes is a good anti-hero and he tends to bring in interesting supporting cast (i.e. Ryan Reynold, Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Dorff). They are good to watch over and over.

10. (Finally) M*A*S*H; Hotlips O'Houlihan: "I wonder how such a degenerated person ever reached a position of authority in the Army Medical Corps." Father Mulcahy: "He was drafted."  This is a classic. Oustanding cast and of course it went on to fuel a long running TV show. I watched a documentary on it and any cast that can throw out the script and still come up with a movie that is funny and still makes a statement; well they get my vote. It's raunchy, but tame by today's standards. It's just hard to not dig Hawkeye Pierce and Radar and all the craziness that happens in that camp. Plus the suicide scene with the classic "Suicide is Painless" modeled after "The Last Supper". If you haven't seen it, RENT IT NOW!

Ok. Thus concludes some of my all time favorite movies. There are more and I can talk about them til I'm blue in the face. But considering that this post has taken most of the day to formulate, I won't.
Til tomorrow.