Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Movies With Malisa

Do you read Too Many Mornings?
Well, you should.
Mike from Too Many Mornings is the
best writer in the blogosphere.
I'm serious. He's damn good.

What does Mike have to do with
"Movies With Malisa"?
Mike recently completed a series of posts
on his pick of Top 21 Movies of all time.
Sounds like an easy task, doesn't it?
It isn't. Try it. Try to pick your top 21.
I couldn't do it.

So I picked my Top 26.

I was a little surprised to review my list
and find two reoccurring themes...
LUST and DESPAIR .
What can I say?

I was also struck by the fact that certain
movies made such impressions on me
because of what was going on in my life
that particular year.

So I decided to put my favorite movies
in chronological order.

There are some definite patterns here,
but only I will know what those patterns are!
What? Did you think I was gonna tell
you about my illustrious past?
Not yet.
However, for the right amount...

So here we go...
my Top 26 Movies:



1. The Bad Seed…1956

2. Giant…1956

3. Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet…1968

4. The Last Picture Show…1971

5. Young Frankenstein…1974

6. An Unmarried Woman…1978

7. Elephant Man…1980

8. The French Lieutenant’s Woman…1981

9. Body Heat…1981

10. Sophie’s Choice…1982

11. The World According to Garp…1982

12. The Big Chill…1983

13. Terms of Endearment…1983

14. Amadeus…1984

15. Belizaire the Cajun…1986

16. The Unbearable Lightness of Being…1988

17. The Milagro Beanfield War…1988

18. Prince of Tides…1991

19. Dazed and Confused…1993

20. The Piano…1993

21. Philadelphia…1993

22. Forrest Gump…1994

23. Fargo…1996

24. Shakespeare in Love…1998

25. Milk…2008

26. Crazy Heart…2009

No, I don't remember watching
the first two movies in 1956,
thank you very much...
but I was alive...
and I have watched both movies
many times since then.

Looks like the 80's movies made
the biggest impact on me.

See the big gap between 1998-2008?
I was a campus principal those ten years.
I wasn't easily impressed.

I guess I cheated a bit by not ranking
the movies in my "favorite order",
but I will give you the top five in order.

1. Body Heat

2. Amadeus

3. The Last Picture Show

4. The Milagro Beanfield War

5. Belizaire The Cajun

So how about you?
What are your favorite movies?

Want to read Mike's favorite movies?
Just go to Too Many Mornings!
He's damn good.
Really.





5 comments:

Mindy said...

26 movies? I can't say that I remember watching 26 movies. I don't sit still that long very well. Some of yours rang a bell and brought back some memories though! ~Mindy

debi lynn mattingly said...

Hey girlfriend!
Wow...I only have a few because I don't really watch movies that much. But, I must say....my kids got me addicted to the TV series "LOST"!!!! And now that I have all 6 seasons on video...let's just say Texan hubby is fighting for his remote! LOL

xo...deb

MikeWJ at Too Many Mornings said...

Well, first let me say that you embarrass me with your praise. Second, okay, as promised, I will send you the check for $100.

Now, to your picks. It is surprisingly difficult to narrow it down, isn't it? But I love your list, partly because it's got some great surprises--"The Milagro Beanfield War" and "Amadeus," for instance (two of my favorite films)--and because I agree that they're all excellent films. Except for the ones I haven't seen, like the intriquingly titled "Belizaire the Cajun." I have to see that, just because I don't think I've ever seen a movie about a Cajun, and I love Cajun music (check out D.L Menard, Cajun's Hank Williams).

The World According to Garp is one of my favorite books of all time, and I thought the movie was awesome. "Body Heat" and "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" are two of the most erotic films I've ever seen, and also two of the most interesting in a non-sexual way, although, hey, I still remember Kathleen Turner covered in all that sweaty Southern heat and nothing else all these decades later.

"Fargo" and "Young Frankenstein" (Oh, love at last I've found you!) almost made my top 21, but I didn't like "Prince of Tides" or "Forrest Gump," much to the surprise of people who know me well. My wife and I raised two daughters with serious mental disabilities and I guess I just couldn't see the cuteness in Tom Hanks' character.

I need to spend some more time sorting out what I think your list says about you, but it clearly indicates that you've had some good times and you've put some serious thought into some hard topics. I see music here, and romance, and a love for the underdog, and a reverence for the past but also a desire to embrace modernity. Also, perhaps, a certain appreciation for the downtrodden.

Great list, Malissa, and thanks for putting it together!

MikeWJ at Too Many Mornings said...

Oops! I added an "s" to your name. Sorry.

JANN said...

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Buster& Billy, the original Sweet November ( with Sandy Dennis & Anthony Nealy ), Funny Girl, Quills, Sunset Boulevard, They Shoot Horses Don't They, Star 80, Living Out Loud, The Piano, Romeo & Juliet, Zebra Lounge, The Woman, Barbarella, The Three Lives of Thomasina, Pretty Baby, Letter for Three Wives, The Rievers, Harold and Maude, The Cowboy Way, Desert Hearts, Marie Antoinette , Summer Time, Sleepy Hollow.