My Top 10 Favorite Movies

     My top 10 favorite movies was a hard list to come up with.  I have an eclectic taste when it comes to movies.  Personally, I enjoy history, whether it be in studing about it, movies or in books.  I haven't found a historical movie that I didn't care for.  It also depends on my mood if I am interested in a good war movie, romance, horror, or comedy, just to name a few.  I like movies that can pull me in and have me feel what the characters are feeling.  I am not going to write movie reports about all 10 of the movies I personally picked.  However, I will explain why this movie has a high place of value in my favorite list. 

10.  THE STAND:  This is one of those movies where the plot is good verses evil; heaven verses hell; right verses wrong.  Who says this apocalyptic themed movie couldn't really happen?  I am not saying it will but the idea of it could happen.  Scientists could create a massive illness that could wipe off over half of the worlds population.  The Black Death in Europe in 1348-1350 it was estimated that up to 200 million people died (up to 60% of the population).  We do have better medical technology today than we did 700 years ago but it did happen and who's to say that it cannot happen again?!  It is a twisted lottery of fate of whether you got the illness or not.  The lack of people means lack of food, lack of electricty, and lack of other means.  Survival is the key.  People have to rely on their skills and other people to survive.

     The movie gave a great illustration of what the end times could be like.  Would Satan tempt you to do his work all for power and glory or would you stay on the straight and narrow no matter how hard it can be?  Who can you learn to trust?  At the end good does triumph over evil and life begins pure and new again. 

9.  SOMEWHERE IN TIME:  I never heard of this 1980 movie until the time Brian and I went to Mackinac Island the summer of 1995 (Fun, Fudge and Nuptials July 24, 2012 blog http://ymaout.blogspot.com/2012/07/fudge-fun-and-nuptials.html).  As we biked our way around the island we came upon a rock with a plaque on it that talks about a scene from the movie being filmed right at that very spot.   It wasn't until several years after that trip that we finally got to see the movie. I fell in love with it. Christopher Reeve (Richard) and Jane Seymore (Elise) did a great job working together in this movie. 

 

 

 

    



It's a bad picture of the rock but you get
the general idea of it.



Brian and I trying to recapture the
movements of the actors.



 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

What if you could go back to a moment in your life to relive it?  I know it is impossible but that is similar to what happened here.  Elise comes to, my guess, the reincarnated Richard in the 1970's and walks up to him and whispers, "Come back to me." and walks away.  Years later he takes a vacation (Mackinac Island) and he sees a picture of a young lady and he remembers the old lady who whispered to him and realized it was the same woman.  He ends up floating back in time to 1912 to be with her.  At the end of the movie he dies alone from a broken heart. 

     The movie reminds me of those bittersweet moments in our lives where we think they will last forever but in time it is no more.  How grand it would be to live that certain moment in our life just one last time!

 

8.  PATRIOT:  This movie has a deeper meaning, to me,  than the countries rebellion against England.  Yes, I do enjoy it for the historical content and the meaning of fighting for something so great that you are willing to lose your life in order for others to have something even better, a chance for freedom.  The council meeting at Charlestown would of been very realistic that some were for the rebellion and others wanted to stay under England's control.  This was not a decision to be taken lightly.  On news sites and radio I hear talk now about people wanting another revolution and that it is time for the common man to stand up to the government and say enough's enough!  Are we, as a country, following the same footsteps, that our forefathers did 200+ years ago?  Time will tell on that one.

     But the deeper meaning has to deal with my ancestry.  I do a lot with my genealogy.  I had family, traced down on my mother's side, that WAS in the Carolina's during that time.  I am still figuring out if they fought in the war or not.  I did come across a name, same as my past relative, who was listed as a Loyalist (fought for the British), but I am trying to validate if it is the right person.  As I watch the movie I realize it isn't just a movie.  My past family lived through it.  I am sure they have seen the redcoats.  I am sure they seen the American's blue, too.  Their lives, no matter what side they were on, were about to change forever no matter the outcome.  The reason I love this movie so much is that my roots tie into it.

 

7.  LEAN ON ME:  I was 12 years old when this movie came out in 1989.  Right away it impacted me.  Based on a true story of a principal Joe Clark who turns a poorly run high school in New Jersey into something amazing.  He kicked out all the drug dealers, the slackers, and the kids who caused trouble from the school.  He gave the kids hope and a vision for the future that they didn't see in themselves before.  He brought back school pride to the students.  He had to get the students to pass a basic skills test or the state would take over the school and as a school body they all worked together at it.  He didn't do all of this accomplishments with ease.  He did it in a style all his own and some would even say it was a bit radical.  Nonetheless, he got the job done.  In the movie a teacher changed the school song and it turned out to be a beautiful song. 

 

 



 

 

     I already knew, before I watched the movie, that I wanted to teach.  I don't want to be like Joe Clark.  I am not that type of person.  But I want to be that type of teacher who will make a difference in a child's life.  I want them to value the importance of themselves.  I want them to go out into the world proud of who they are and where they came from. 

 

 

6.  BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA:   To me this is one of the greatest love stories.  It can be read on the February 14, 2012 blog Bram Stoker's Dracula - A Love Story.  http://ymaout.blogspot.com/2012/02/bram-stokers-dracula-love-story.html   Dracula loved Mina so much that he didn't want her to be part of the living dead.  She feels a deep love for him, a strong connection, where she wants to be part of his life, even in death.  At the end of the movie Dracula is badly injured.  He knows Mina loves him and asks for her to finish him off.  Mina didn't want to see him suffer any longer and knows his heart will be at peace and eventually puts his life to an end.  It is a very thought provoking, romantic movie.

 

5.  BRAVEHEART:  I had never heard of this movie until the early winter season of 1996.  I was attending Grand Valley State University.  A few people were talking about the release of the movie on VCR coming up and they were anxious to rent it.  They told me a brief background on the movie, how Scotland gain's its freedom, and it sounded rather boring.  They insisted I watch it.  Then one night someone rented the movie.  Around 15 or more people crowed into one of the tiny dorm rooms.  The upper and lower bunks were filled with people, the floor was littered with bodies wanting to watch the movie.  I had a floor seat leaning up against the bunk bed.  I seen the two tapes and thought to myself, 2 tapes?  Oh dear Lord this is going to be a looong night!  The lights went out and the movie started.  Right away it caught my attention.  I didn't know this part of history.  I know the movie has its flaws on accuracy but it was still good.  There was war, romance, small comedy scenes (Stephen was one of my favorites in the movie), history and action.  The two VCR tapes of it that I thought would drag through the night actually went by pretty fast.  There was so much that was going on in the movie that it kept you on the edge of your seat. 

      Like The Patroit, this movie is about taking a stand for freedom. It is about the common everyday man who says enough to the government.  Many famous lines came out of that movie that I see being tossed around today in reguards to our own government.  "There's a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it"  "And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM! !"  and "FREEEEEDOOOOM!" that William Wallace shouts out at the end of the movie right before dies. 

     I had a new insight of death when I seen this movie.  Some quotes from the movie, "Every man dies. Not every man really lives", "We all end up dead, it's just a question of how and why," and "You see, death comes to us all."  I found those sayings to be true.  No matter what we do in life, no matter what paths we take, we all will be dead.  Are we doing things in our lives that can and will impact future generations?  Not everyone is a William Wallace and can change the course of history for our fellow citizens.  But if given a moment to take a stand for something you believed in it should be done at the moment so you don't look back with regret.

 

 

 

4.  LOVE AND WAR:  I never heard about this 1996 movie until probably 2008 (give or take a year) while I was channel surfing one evening.  Sandra Bullock caught my attention as I enjoy her movies.  I watched with no clue on what it was about.  I kept hearing her talk to a young man, or kid as she refers him to, as Erine.  He talked about a cabin up in Michigan and I laughed to myself thinking, "It's probably Earnest Hemingway."   And to my suprise it WAS about Earnest Hemingway, a famous writer.  The movie is based off of his book A Farewell to Arms.  I haven't read the book as of yet but I want to.  It is about his romance with a nurse, Agnes von Kurowsky, when he was wounded in the Great War. 

     Every time I watch this movie I want the ending to change.  Ernie loves Agnes very much but she is somewhat older than he is.  Agnes is starting to fall in love with Ernie and his boyish ways but the age difference keeps holding her back of loving him fully.  He asks for her hand in marriage and she excepts.  Her friends eventually talk her out of wedding him and persuades her to date a doctor who also asks for her hand in marriage and she accepts.  This tore Ernie up.  It crushed his heart.  Agnes did not end up marrying the doctor as deep down she realizes she does love Ernie.  She goes to his cabin in Michigan to declare her love to him.  But it was too late.  He put up a brickwall to her.  He told her a part of him wants to caress and hold her but the other part cannot.  She told Ernie she loves him.  He couldn't respond.  His heart was turned to stone.  She walks away and they never see each other again.  For those who don't know the rest of Earnest Hemingway's story he ended up being a heavy drinker, albeit a great prize winning writer, failed at several marriages and he ended up taking his life.   I wonder what if.  What if Ernie did take Agnes in his arms and married her?  Would his fate had been the same?  Can a person who's heart was crushed like that ever really love the same way again? 

 

3.  STAND BY ME:  This was my signature movie growing up.  The year was 1987.  I was 10 years old.  Stand By Me was premiering on HBO.  I was spending the night at my best friend, Sara's house.  I was going to tape it off HBO.  We both loved Corey Feldman and he was in the movie.  It probably didn't matter how awful the movie could be, we were determind to like it.  And in no time we did just that.  We watched the movie over and over.  We had the entire movie memorized.  A few years ago my husband bought me the DVD version of the movie because he knew it held special memories from my childhood and I still could recite the whole movie by heart. 

     The main character, Gordie LaChance, was a writer reflecting back on his memories as a kid when he hears about the death of one of his dear friends from childhood.  At that time I enjoyed writing and I wondered if I would look back at my childhood the same way.  And in a way I think I do. 

     There were many lines I remember using from that movie.  One we used to do all the time when someone says shut-up.  "I don't shut-up, I grow up, and when I look at you I throw-up" then you make vomiting noises.  The comeback to that line would be, "Then your mother goes around the corner and she licks it up".  Another line was "You four eyed pile of shit!"  The come back would be, "A pile of shit has a thousand eyes!"  Then there was the famous, "Two for flinching" when you act like you are going to punch someone and they jerk back then you punch them hard, twice, in the arm.  As I am typing this now I laugh at the stupidity of it but we thought that was very clever.

     The mailbox baseball scene gave us ideas of some fun during my adolescent time.  We even had a bat named Louie and we would take turns having a swing at it.  I lived in the city and we went out to the country for some fun doing that.  Train dodging.  We didn't have trains by where we lived but we did live on a busy road and we thought it would be fun to run out in front of a car at the last second to cross the street.  How stupid we were!   We didn't think about what we were doing or the damage we were causing.  I am not proud of that part in my life but rewatching this movie I cannot help but reflect on that time. 

     Just like life, time marches on and people fad in and out of our lives with no apparent reason.  At the end of the movie he even talks about it with the famous last line of the movie, "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"  We all knew someone in our lives at that time who could fit into one of those character roles:  Gordie - the guy who cannot fit in at home just trying to find his way in the world; Chris - the hard knocked rebel who deep down is a nice guy; Vern - the oddball kid that is just silly at times; and Teddy - the one who takes dangerous risks and is out to get everyone.  Or maybe there is a little bit of all of them inside of us?

2.  LEFT BEHIND:  This movie combines my thrill of apocalyptical movies and my love for the Lord.  It plays on the idea of what if the rapture would happen.  If Jesus were to come down right at this minute to take his children, would you be one of them?  I pray that I would be but I don't know.  God's standards are set so high.  One of my favorite part in the whole movie is when Buck (played by Kirk Cameron) approaches a guy and asks him if he is a good person in God's eyes.  Have you ever stole anything, even if it was a pen at work?  Then that would make you a thief if you did.  Have you ever lusted, even if it is with your mind, after another person?  That would make you an adulterer.  Have you ever lied to someone about anything, no matter how small the lie is?  Then that would make you a liar.  By that standard we broke 3 out of the 10 commandment.  Hearing that really hits home on how good we are not.  We all have room for improvement in God's eyes.  
     Another one of my favorite scenes, and I may be a bit biased here, is where Chole is driving to college when the rapture occurs.  Traffic comes to a confused messy standstill on the highway.  Chole runs to a semi-truck and opens the door and all that is left is a baseball cap, flannel shirt and a pair of jeans.  The truck driver has been raptured!  YES!  The one that is least expected to flee this Earth in God's calling is the one who goes. 
     In the making now is a new version of Left Behind staring Nicholas Cage.  I am not sure how I will like the new movie but the original version is very impressive.  However, the book is better then the movie!

1.  NORTH AND SOUTH:  I fell in love with this movie the first time I seen it on TV in 1985.  I was 8 years old and I was only allowed to see bits and pieces as I would sneak quietly out in the livingroom and hide behind the couch to see it.  If I were to sneeze or cough my mom would find me and ship me back off to my bedroom. 
     It has everything I love in a movie, Civil War theme, action, drama, romance, scandals, and betrayals.  There is so much that goes on that it is hard to pinpoint one or two things that I like from the movie.  I love it all.  I love how Bent from West Point bullies on George and Orie and later on romances the married Ashton to use her husband's money.  I love the love triangle between Orie, Madeline and Justin.  I love the innocence of Brett and Billy in their relationship.  I love the duel of Charles and the soon to be husband of a lover he had one night.  George and his Irish wife Constance and the conflict in the Hazzard family.  I love how Virgilia goes about in her abolitionist ways and sets a slave free and ends up marrying him.  There was not one part of this movie I don't like.   I even named our daughter, Ashton, after a character from the movie.  We don't like the character of Ashton, as she is set to be a conniving little tramp, but the name sounded beautiful.