My Top Ten Most-Favorite Movies {at the moment & for some time now}

This is fairly self-explanatory. ;)

{However, I will point out that, as usual, The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia don't make this list because they're kind of on this whole "other plane," in my mind, when it comes to fictional stories.  This list is for those movies that I watch regularly and am almost always in the mood for.  (And they're in no order. ;))}

✾ The Swan Princess ✾


How come?
  • childhood nostalgia
  • gorgeous animation
  • SONGSSSSS <3
    • This Is My Idea:  "What if Odette doesn't go for the merger?"   "Urge her!!!"
    • Far Longer than Forever
    • No Fear, etc.
  • CHARACTERSSSSSS <3 <3
    • Jean-Bob, Mr. Lorenzo Trudge-along ("Friends call me Speed"), Puffin, Odette, Derek (bless his heart), Uberta, Rothbart, Rogers . . . 
    • also, for the record, those names ^^
  • witty lines
    • "I'm gonna die; I knew it!  I'm on a mission with a lame turtle!"
    • "You should write a book: 'How to Offend Women in Five Syllables or Less.'"
    • "Acknowledge.  ACKnowlEDGE!"
    • "Duck!"  "What?"
    • "This kind of thing doesn't bring me any pleasure.  Well, maybe a teensy bit, but--"
  • the traditional Swan Lake but lighter and happier and altogether more fun
  • one of probably only two or three on the list that I will actually, regularly turn to when I'm feeling sad

✾ The Parent Trap ✾


How come?
  • everythiiiiiiinnnngggggggg
    • *sigh*  Okay, I will be coherent.
  • great characters
    • Chessy deserves her own mention
    • so does Martin
    • so do all of them honestly
  • again, childhood nostalgia
  • fun locations
  • the balancing act of sufficiently exploring all those different relationships (Annie/Hallie, Nick/Lizzie, Annie/Hallie/Nick/Lizzie,  etc.) so that we're invested in each (which the makers did successfully!)
  • classic (but modern) feel
  • the SOUNDTRACK, HELLO 
    • "Here Comes the Sun," "There She Goes," "L-O-V-E-," "Never Let You Go" . . . honestly it all makes me so happy <3
  • another one that truly does cheer me up when I'm down

✾ My Fair Lady ✾


How come?
  • Audrey Hepburn
  • m u s i c 
    • seriously the music is great
  • Rex Harrison (the man deserved that Oscar SO MUCH, I'm so glad he won it)
  • c o s t u m e s
  • Higgins's lines
    • "What, that thing?  Sacred, I assure you."
    • any of his spoken-sung song lyrics ever
  • s e t s 
  • Colonel Pickering and Mrs. Pearce and Mrs. Higgins
  • honestly Eliza Doolittle is my dream role

✾ Penelope ✾


How come?
  • not to be dramatic or anything, but THIS COUPLE IS MY LIFE
    • I mean not really but kinda
  • Penelope herself is sassy and adorable
  • Johnny himself is sassy and adorable
  • the dialogue
  • the quirky color palette + aesthetic
    • seriously like the Gothic family estate and Penelope's happy room and then the greasy newspaper offices and then the bubbly nighttime fair in the park, and just . . . *happy sigh*
  • all the secondary characters: the parents ("I think your father could use some cocoa, too!"), Annie ("I'm done dating crazy--done.  Unless it's meant to be, right?"), Lemon ("Edward . . . don't lick Max."), etc.
  • the "You Are My Sunshine" scene

✾ Letters to Juliet ✾


How come?
  • the banter between Charlie and Sophie is everything
    • Case in point:  "Forgive me.  Where are my manners?"  "You know, I've been wondering that since I met you."
  • Claire is a lovely presence as well 
    • "Okay, darling, have a good sleep."
  • (and the actors for Claire and Lorenzo are married in real life <3)
  • almost all of it takes place in Italy, and it's loverly (plus the soundtrack features a bunch of Italian tunes)
  • Sophie's outfits are cute
  • Victor is adorable, and the fact that he's a chef makes for some fun foodie aspects
  • it's happy and sweet

✾ Broken Trail ✾


How come?
  • my favorite Western
  • Tom Harte.  That is all.
    • Also Print Ritter.  And Sun Fu.  And Nola Johns.  And Heck Gilpin.  Those are all, too.
  • THE STORY IS JUST SO POWERFUL I CANNOT ACK *cries a little*
  • It's vahry intense.  Like, sometimes a little too intense for regular consumption.
  • But it's still amazing and it's stayed with me for some little while, after multiple rewatches.
  • TOM AND SUN FU
    • THE STAGECOACH SCENE
      • THE SNOWFLAKES
        • THE HAND


✾ Wives and Daughters ✾


How come?
  • the characters are all so flawed, but (most of them) are also so endearing
    • Molly is almost perfect--she really kind of "makes" the show
    • Cynthia gets too much flak; she's not perfect but she has her reasons for being the way she is, and even if that doesn't excuse some of her behavior, it does deserve recognition
    • Hyacinth is hilarious
    • Mr. Gibson really irritates me but my parents like him so we have a little argument every time
    • but anyway
  • there's not really a villain??
    • I mean, Hyacinth has her problematic moments, and so does Squire Hamley
    • Preston is probably the closest to a villain, but I don't think he really is one.  I like how they portray his character.
  • I like that it's a miniseries, because miniseries = more time spent in the story, obviously
  • pwetty settings
  • the development of Roger and Molly's relationship is really sweet
  • I love that it portrays just the normal, tedious, tension-fraught little moments of everyday life & living
  • I don't know, it's hard to describe--there's just something about it that feels homey and sweet and a little achy 


✾ The Philadelphia Story ✾


How come?
  • my favorite black-and-white movie
  • this script is kind of the best thing ever, no joke
    • "Oh, we're going to talk about me, are we?  Goody."
    • "Just Damon and Pythias."  "No, Grant and Lee."
    • "You hate me, I trust, Miss Imbrie."  "No, I'm just a photographer; I can't afford to hate anybody."
    • "It's a quaint old place, don't you think?  Filled with relics.  And how old are you, Mr. Connor?"
    • "That's probably so they can talk to the horses without having them in the house."
  • I love Katharine Hepburn, especially in this
  • I also love Cary Grant, especially in this
  • Jimmy Stewart isn't a bad addition, either ;)
  • I like the premise and how it plays out meanderingly across the whole movie
  • the "morning after"/wedding scene is adorable
    • Seth Lord is still a little rat, though

✾ Sense and Sensibility {2008} ✾


How come?
  • kind of every little thing about the way it's put together is perfect and gorgeous
    • like, almost every shot, almost every camera angle, almost every costume
  • the four main principals are wonderful, but honestly the whole entire cast is great too
    • especially Mrs. Dashwood and Margaret
  • the setting of Dashwoods' new cottage is GOOOOORGEOUSSSSSSSSS
    • all those rolling, towering cliffs and that crashing surf and those tiny little pools and the smoothness of the pebble beach and the mossy woods and just
  • Edward and Brandon are two wonderful fictional human men
    • (Like, honestly, Edward gets flak sometimes and I know he made a hasty decision with Lucy but does it really make him weak-willed or a villain??!  I think not.  I think not indeed, sir.)
  • Elinor is a queen
  • the way they have the "Next" and "Previously" montages at the end and beginning of the episodes
  • that musical score, tho
  • THE BALLROOM SCENE WHEN BRANDON BASICALLY MELTS WILLOUGHBY RIGHT INTO THE FLOOR BY THE STRENGTH OF HIS GLARE ALONE

✾ You've Got Mail ✾


How come?
  • Kathleen Kelly is an absolutely adorable creature
    • I mean
    • her little prancing/shuffling walk when she's feeling playful or whimsical
    • her apartment
    • the scene when she's sick 
  • Joe is great, also
    • like for one thing, I love the way he reacts to things:  " . . . And getting those eggs harvested."
  • Frank and George and Christina and Gertie and everybody else are awesome too
  • I really love how this movie depicts the change in seasons in New York: peppy fall, melancholy winter, white-blossomed spring
  • them lines, though
    • "You probably rented those children."
    • "I was eloquent! [forceful expletive]"
    • "Don't you love New York in the fall?  It always makes me want to buy school supplies."
    • and so on and so forth

What are your favorite movies, or some of them?

Comments

  1. The Swan Princess!! Movie of my childhood!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great choices! Several of these are also on my favorites list, including The Philadelphia Story, You've Got Mail, Penelope and My Fair Lady. And that version of Sense and Sensibility is the best!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! It's especially nice to meet someone else who knows and likes The Philadelphia Story, since it doesn't appeal to everyone. :) I agree! Most definitely. ;)

      (P.S. I like your username!)

      Delete
  3. Awww, I love Sense & Sensibility (I was just watching it yesterday!) and Wives & Daughters!!! I really need to re-watch The Philadelphia Story and My Fair Lady sometime soon! I've only seen them once. :-P

    Some movies that I watch regularly and/or am almost always in the mood for include: Mulan, UP, The Search for Christopher Robin (#childhood), The Apple Dumpling Gang, Around the World in 80 Days, 101 Dalmatians (1961), the PBS adaptation of Little Women, Emma '09, Pride & Prejudice '95, The Shop Around the Corner, and pretty much any episode from the Road to Avonlea series. <3

    ~ Catie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Were you?? That's neat; we recently re-watched it, too! :) Aww, yes. <3 Yes, do!

      Ooh, such good ones! I especially relate to The Search for Christopher Robin (if that's the one I'm thinking of) and The Apple Dumpling Gang.

      Delete
  4. The Parent Trap is the most quotable film ever. I've never read or watched Wives and Daughters - love North and South though so should probably fix that!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's awesome :D You haven't?! You definitely should try it! It's much lighter than North and South.

      Delete
  5. Letters to Juliet! YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ah, Swan Princes, so quotable! The first montage scene and song is my favorite part. And Far Longer Than Forever is gorgeous.

    I greatly prefer the old Parent Trap, that's hilarious. That Darn Cat is also a scream. These are a bit newer to-us-likes. I hated My Fair Lady when I saw it when I was a preteen, but it's grown on me; there are certainly some hilarious lines.

    How to Steal a Million, Bringing Up Baby ("Oh, David, but Daaavid!").

    The Apple Dumpling Gang is a perennial favorite for us girls as is Friendly Persuasion and most BBC Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell (although, I think I'm a bit bored of the former, we've watched them SO many times).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES, oh my goodness. The very first bars of the movie as the credits are coming make me Feel Things. <3

      That Darn Cat is so funny! "I'm gonna scream!" "Worst thing you could do; use up all the oxygen."

      HtSaM is on my to-watch list, and Bringing Up Baby is really entertaining. XD "In quiet moments I'm strangely drawn to you; but . . . well, there haven't been any quiet moments."

      YES. TADG is fabulous. As are Austen and Gaskell. :) I haven't seen Friendly Persuasion.

      Delete
    2. Friendly Persuasion is so sweet. It's about a Quaker family in Civil War era Indiana. Anthony Perkins, Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire.

      Delete
  7. Ah, I love learning people's top ten movies! So much fun. :D

    And yes to so many of these! Swan Princess, The Parent Trap, My Fair Lady, and You've Got Mail, such good times! If there is one movie I want to watch more than any other, it's The Philadelphia Story. Oh, I've wanted to see if for such a long time! One of these days...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here!

      Ahh, really?! I really hope you like it when you see it. It doesn't appeal to everyone and I understand that, but . . . yeah, I hope it appeals to you. ;)

      Delete
  8. Sense and Sensibility 08 is so perfect in every way. It always makes me feel calm and peaceful. So much ocean.

    THE GLARE YES THE GLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yussssssssss. <3

      I AM UNREASONABLY FOND OF THE GLARE. :D Like, seriously. *happy sigh* He's just like, "BOY I'M GON' KILL YOU, YOU BEST BELIEVE".

      Delete
  9. The Swan Princess is an absolute childhood favorite! I can still remember sitting on the floor in front of our TV with my siblings watching it xD

    ~Ceci

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, right?? Such wonderful childhood memories. :D

      Delete
  10. Well, then... *adds a bunch of these to my "must-watch" list* xD I loved Parent Trap when I was a kid (still do, tbh, Nick and Lizzie are the CUTEST)! My Fair Lady is such a classic *heart eyes* Penelope was so sweet! Lovely post, my friend. <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! I'm so glad you like all those, too! Especially The Parent Trap, since so many people I know prefer the original. ;) Thank you, m'dear! <3

      Delete
  11. You have excellent movie taste. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love this post! It was most enjoyable to read! And now I want to see so many of these movies. First off, the Swan Princess...that definitely has to be on our list because I watched it a LONG time ago but I hardly remember any of it and I really want to see it again.

    And now I'm curious about the Parent Trap, too, although I really like the Hayley Mills version so I may find it rather hard to like a different one. Still it's fun to watch different versions of the same story.

    PENELOPE!!! Ach! That one brings back fond memories. Maybe we should watch that one again.

    And Wives and Daughters...I still don't think I'll like that one very much but I've been saying for a while that I ought to give it a second chance, so I guess I really should sometime.

    We watched The Philadelphia Story a long time ago and for some reason we didn't like it, but it's been such a while now, and I remember next to nothing about it, that I would be very interested in seeing it again.

    And Sense and Sensibility we must watch! I mean, I have a feeling I still won't love it, but who knows...maybe it will grow on me with a second viewing. And I really liked Edward and Elinor in this version. (EDWARD IS A GREAT CHARACTER! I don't think he deserves the flak he gets AT ALL. Do people actually make him out to be a villain??? That is ridiculous!!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *grins* Thank you so much!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. :D YES, we must do The Swan Princess. <33

      Yes, most of the people I know prefer the original. It is A Trial in my life, but what can you do. ;-P I haven't watched all of the Hayley Mills version, but from the people I know who have I gather the Lindsey Lohan one is pretty different. As you say, though, it can be fun watching different versions of the same story, and it'd be interesting to see what you think of it! :)

      I knooooooooowwwww!! *big hugs*

      Hehehe . . . that's okay. But yeah, if you want to try it again that'd be cool! ;)

      My mom and I didn't like it the first time we watched it, either. But then I guess I watched it a couple more times and started noticing some of the lines and realizing that the humor is actually just my kind of thing, so, yeah. :)

      Yes! We just re-watched it, actually, and . . . AGH I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH FOREVER. <33 Elinor and Edward are wonderful in this one! (Well, I don't think anyone actually thinks of him as a villain per se, but I just meant, I guess, villainous in a sort of exaggerated way. ;) Since, yes, people DO dislike him because of Lucy. And I truly don't think I understand that rationale, you know????)

      Delete
  13. The Parent Trap is such a classic. I totally agree that Chessy, and just all the characters are fantastic. THE SOUNDTRACK IS THE BEST.

    Audrey Hepburn is incredible. And My Fiar Lady is one of the best.

    AGH Penelope  so amazing. Maybe just becuase I was in love with James Mcavoy when I first saw the movie. It's such a sweet movie, and I love the fairy tale side.

    Letters to Juliet is so sweet. First off, Italy? Yes. Amanda Seyfried? Yes. Cliche chic-flicks? Yes. Aw I didn't know that those two actors are actually married, that's so lovely.

    I love Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant, but I'm not a big fan of Katharine Hepburn. Then again, I haven't watched Philidalphia story in about six years so perhaps I should give it another try lol.

    Ah I love Sense and Sensibilty 2008, it's so visually stunning.

    YOUVE GOT MAIL IS THE BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME, AND I REST MY CASE.

    Anyways, sorry for the long comment  This was such a fun post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aaahhh, YES. Chessy and Martin and Grandfather and the soundtrack and just everything.

      It is!!

      I love how it's a blend of modern chick-flick and fairytale. <3

      Yes! I know, isn't it adorable? I was happy when I heard that.

      I totally understand why people wouldn't like Katharine Hepburn. I can see why she would be irritating (though I personally love her). Haha, yeah, the first time I watched it I didn't like it either.

      It really is!

      I MEAN YOU'RE NOT WRONG.

      No, don't apologize! It's awesome. :D Thank you!

      Delete
  14. I like the portrayal of Preston too.

    SPOILER ALERT for any Game of Thrones fans who are wayyyy behind:

    ------

    Iaian Glen (yes, that's the correct spelling), the actor who plays Preston in Wives and Daughters, plays a similarly morally compromised but now trying-to-do-the-right thing guy who has a thing for younger women in Game of Thrones, where he plays Ser Jorah Mormont. He's excellent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, yeah, now that you mention it, I think I did know that Iaian Glen was in GoT. I bet he's great. He seems like he could pull off those antiheroic characters really well.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Comments make my day. Seriously. I'd be so happy if you commented. :)

I've gotten really bad about replying in a timely manner, but it's always my intention to do so eventually. (Even though it doesn't always happen. ;))

Popular posts from this blog

Movies: Month in Review {February 2018}

Ivanhoe (1997) movie review

BBC Robin Hood TV Series, Season 1 Review