Top 5 Favorite Movies

1. Anne of Green Gables (and Anne of Avonlea)
If you know me at all, this is a no-brainer. I first fell in love with this movie during my sophomore year in high school. Actually, Danny made me watch it with our friends, Sueann and Kris. I love the simplicity of the life, the upbeat "Anneish" philosophy, the sentimental romance of it all. The filmography is beautiful as well, and I must say, these movies did a great job capturing the essence of the books. Just a beautiful, naive, idealistic kind of movie.

2. Sense and Sensibility
Just a high quality film. I really like it when I saw it, but it took a viewing in the last few months that pushed it this high. I mean, this was just really well-made, and there is just a rich depth of story and character woven in this movie. It also has a great soundtrack. So this raises the question: Marianne or Elinor? I am definitely with Elinor. There is just such a nobility in her. Miriam's a Marianne girl, though. Hmmm, maybe that's why we ended up together...

3. Forrest Gump
My brothers and I use to imitate the Forrest Gump voice, we even videotaped a couple of scenes. But this is really a beautiful movie, and it gets better every time I see it. I think that's a big factor for me with a favorite movies list. It's also why a movie like, say .... Titanic isn't one of my favorites. I mean, it was incredibly powerful the first time I saw it, and I ended up seeing it twice in the theater. But after that, I just started getting annoyed. But I'm the type of person that can watch a movie a lot of times if I really like it (or even moderately like it. Heck, I'll sometimes watch movies I don't like multiple times!). Sidenote: I'm also the type that memorizes movies lines. It's a family thing - even Nari does it. Anyway, back to the movie. Tom Hanks is, of course, wonderful. Then throw in the whole Americana thing, the balance between drama and comedy, and just kind of a heartwarming story. But it also asks some interesting questions - destiny vs. chance, what is true love, and it also keeps symbolic unity which was a really interesting discovery for me the last time I saw it. Like Forrest's "magic legs" at the beginning, and Lt. Dan's legs at the end. It's just interesting.

4. A Few Good Men
The best performance that I've seen Tom Cruise give, IMO, and this is coming from a huge Tom Cruise fan. He's just soooo cool. What drives this movie is a great script - story and dialogue. Throw in a legitimately legendary scene at the end with Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise, and you have a high quality movie. What strikes me more and more as I get older is that there really are no "bad" guys in this movie. So the end of the movie - does it satisfy? Or it's a little ambiguous at best. So they put Col. Jessup away, but is that a good thing? I also love the incredible pyschological warfare of the climactic scene. Oooo, just dripping with drama.

5. Emma
Another Austen adaptation make my list, although, I must say, I'm not 100% sure this is my "real" top 5 list. It's just tough to narrow it down, and I have a bunch that I like almost equally. I'd say this makes my list because it has the epitome of being a man - Mr. Knightley - played wonderfully by Jeremy Northam. He is all class, wit, kindness, and integrity in this movie. Seriously, this a guy we all need to take notes on when it comes to how to treat women. Otherwise, though, this is funny, light-hearted movie, and I think this is where Gwyneth Paltrow looks the most beautiful, and the green of England is just breathtaking. Ewan MacGregor also gives a great supporting performance, especially in the piano/singing scene, in which he no doubtedly won the lead for Moulin Rouge. If you don't know what I'm referring to, just watch the movie.


Honorable Mention:
Star Wars Saga
You've Got Mail (our "couple" movie)
Transformers: The Movie
Shakespeare in Love (best script in a movie I've seen)
Amadeus
Dumb and Dumber
Love Actually
Before Sunset
Meet the Parents
Any Owen Wilson Movie