Movie Mania

You'd think I could find other things to talk about, and in fact I'm way behind on a post I'd like to make, but I was tagged by Steve for a silly meme, so what the heck.

The rules of the “game” are simple:
1. list your top ten favorite films (in no particular order).
2. if you’re tagged, you’ve got to post and tag 3-5 other people.
3. give a tag back (some link love) to the one who tagged you in your post
4. give a hat tip (HT) to Dan

No, I have no idea who Dan is. Probably the guy who started all this. I went back several levels and didn't find him. If you have more patience than me, more power to ya.

So here we go. I shall warn you now that I'm quirky.

1. The Princess Bride. Not so quirky -- everyone loves this one.

2. Real Genius. Lots of people have never heard of this, but it's a great, quirky '80s comedy starring pre-Top Gun Val Kilmer. I had to watch everything with him in it for years. I can almost recite this movie.

3. When Harry Met Sally. Greatest chick flick of all time, beloved by many men.

4. Virtually anything by Pixar. Although I think it's cheating to list trilogies and things like that as one entry, everyone else has, so I will too. :-P Besides, Pixar could kill off half my list.

5. The Indiana Jones movies. I love me some Harrison Ford. He seems like a guy who has his head on straight for a Hollywood type, too.

6. Memento. I cannot believe I don't own this one. I really need to buy it.

7. Wallace and Gromit films (a total rip-off of Steve's #4, but who cares?).

8. Better Off Dead. "I want my two dollars!" I SO love John Cusack. When I visited Chicago for the first time and found out he lived there (and a friend of a friend knew where he hung out), I had visions of running into him. Maybe he's not all that interesting in person, but I'd love to have dinner with him and find out. Naming only one Cusack film was tough. You can make #8 "virtually any John Cusack film."

9. Four Weddings and a Funeral. I like Hugh Grant's movies too, and I've watched many of them, but I suspect he's a mess as a person. Still cute though. #9 could be "lots of Hugh Grant films"... and yes, I own many of them.

10. Good Will Hunting. "How do you like THEM apples?" Lots of other movies I love in my collection, but this is the one I keep coming back to when I go to my shelves and look for #10.

Runners-up: the Bridget Jones movies (love Renee Zellweger in them), Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Juno, Wedding Crashers, Sleepless in Seattle, Pirates of the Caribbean. Since most of these are more recent, I want to see if they pass the test of time to become beloved movies. I'm betting on Juno for that.

I tag Brian (why has he not been tagged? Hello? Film buff!), my seester (private blog, sorry guys), Kristy, Coach J, and Karen.

A Rare Movie Treat

I watched "I Am Legend" tonight, after a long debate ("'Juno'? 'National Treasure'? How about whichever one we aren't late for when we get there? All right then!") and was surprised in several ways.

I don't want to ruin anything for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. Suffice it to say I was expecting something like "Cast Away" and got a great deal more action than that. (I never saw a trailer as detailed as the one in the link above, or I would have known better.)

Another surprise was a conversation about the nature of God that took place near the end of the movie. Will Smith ended the conversation by saying, "There is no God," which is what you would expect from a big Hollywood movie, but that wasn't the last word on the subject, only in the conversation.

It was a thought-provoking movie in terms of lots of things: what would the world be like without people; what could / have people done to ruin the earth we've been entrusted with; what would I do if I found myself in Smith's shoes (for much of the movie, as far as he knows, he's the sole survivor on earth); and some medical ethics and animal issues thrown in for fun. It's been a long time since I saw a good serious thinking movie. I was pleased.