MY FAVOURITE MOVIES
What is it about sitting in a darkened movie theater for two hours or more surrounded by complete strangers watching flickering lights on the screen that totally enthralls us all? Movie Magic it’s sometimes called; it’s a time we escape from the real world and enter a fantasy land where Larger than Life Heroes reside. These, my friends are my favourite movies. You’ll notice that most of these are older movies from the 1980s or earlier. It was a time when I was young and impressionable, and movies still had that magical quality that totally enraptured and captivated me. These days when I see movies, I criticize more than anything else. Movies today just don’t seem as magical and enthralling as when I was little. I guess we all get a little bit jaded when we get older. Which explains why most of today's critics always seems to hate today's moves. Let's face it, they're a bunch of old dudes who, just like me, yearn for the days when they were young when movies were simply magical. I'm sure one day, I'll be that way too. But I still do enjoy today's movies. Who knows, maybe fifteen years from now, I might even learn to like Titanic...Well, let's not go too far...Titanic will probably suck just as much fifteen years from now as it does today...but that's just my opinion. Nevertheless, here is a small portion of the list in my head. The list of my favourite flicks:


BACK TO THE FUTURE
Universal Pictures 1985
Quite possibly my favourite movie of all time! Michael J. Fox plays Marty McFly, a totally rad 80s teen who finds himself back in 1955 and must try to find some way to make his parents meet and fall in love so he and his brother and sister can be born. To make matters worse, his Mom, Lorraine (Caroline in the city 's, Lea Thompson) totally has the hots for Marty! There’s something kinky and perverted in there, but I won’t delve into that just now.





MY FAIR LADY
Warner Brothers 1964
Simply Loverley! The beautiful Audrey Hepburn plays cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle who is magically transformed into an elegant Princess with the help of course, of linguistics Professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Hugh Pickering, played brilliantly by the great Rex Harrison and Wilfrid Hyde-White respectively. Classic scene: Who could ever forget the "Rain in Spain" sequence? They don't make movies like this anymore!














GUYS and DOLLS
MGM 1955
Based on Damon Runyon's story about hustlers and con artists in mid-50s Manhattan, this classic stars Frank Sinatra as Nathan Detroit, a well mannered illegal craps game organizer who makes makes a bet with Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando)that he would not be able to get the saintly Salvation Army recruiter Sarah Brown, played by Jean Simmons, to go vacationing in Cuba with him. Sky succeeds, but along the way falls in Love with Sarah and can't get himself to accept his winnings. Memorable moments: Marlon Brando sings in a musical for the first (and last) time!













THE OMEGA MAN
Warner Brothers 1971
Charlton Heston is the only survivor of a deadly Chemical War and now he must deal with zombie like dudes led by Anthony Zerbe who are hell-bent on destroying him because they think he’s like, evil and stuff. When I saw this movie for the first time when I was a kid, I remember being so fascinated with the concept of being the only person left in the world; What would it be like? In the movie Charlton Heston goes about his everyday business, jogging through a totally deserted city, keeping himself occupied by playing chess with his Julius Caesar bust, goes shopping for clothes at a department store (all free of course), and for fun, he blows away a few dozen weirded out zombie dudes! What a life! The ending is quite intriguing too. He gets killed but not before handing over a bottle of his life giving blood to a group of children. Hope for the future. He dies in a Jesus Christ on the Cross kinda pose, kind of a subliminal ‘I am the new savior of mankind’ kind of message. Potentially controversial stuff, but it never materialized when this film first came out in ’71. All in all, one of the best sci-fi fantasy films I’d ever seen!



SUPERMAN
Warner Brothers 1978
Chris Reeve beat out more than 200 other hopefuls who auditioned for the part of Superman, and he did a great job playing the Man of Steel! So many wonderful scenes in this movie: Who can forget Superman saving Lois Lane from a perilous fall, with Lois in one arm, AND a helicopter in the other! What a guy! Who can forget the sight of Superman and Lois Lane flying amidst the clouds high above Metropolis while the romantic Ballad "Can you read my mind" plays in the background; Who can forget the brilliant Gene Hackman as the evil Lex Luthor; The Great Glenn Ford as Pa Kent, and of course Marlon Brando as Jor-El, Superman’s Kryptonian Father; Who could also forget the luscious Valerrie Perrine (and her breasts!) who sent my then 12-year old hormones raging with that awesome dress that she wore early on in the film! An unforgettable film!



SUPERMAN II
Warner Brothers 1980
Superman’s back in this sequel and this time he must battle three evil villains with super powers to rival his own! Lois figures out Clark is Superman, Lois and Superman go back to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, where Superman loses his super powers, so what do they do? Why of course they have a Romantic dinner and afterwards, Lois and Superman do the Nasty! I mean what would YOU do? But in the end, ol’ Supes regains his powers and proceeds to kick some evil villain butt!




STAR WARS
20th Century Fox 1977
This movie marked the beginning of a new Era in Film making. Ground breaking special effects and a great story combined to make this film one of the most successful films of all time! This movie also launched the careers of a bunch of unknown actors, most notably Harrison Ford who went on to become the huge movie Star that he is today. Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, Obi Wan Kenobi, R2-D2, they’re all part of modern American culture, thanks to the success of Star Wars. May the Force be with you!












SOMEWHERE IN TIME Universal Pictures 1980
Call me a Romantic sap or whatever, but I do Love this movie so. The sweeping, Romantic John Barry score is only one of the reasons this film is one of my all-time faves! Chris Reeve takes a break from his Superman role to play a guy who falls madly in Love with the woman in on old picture hanging on the wall of an old Hotel. Who could blame him? Who wouldn’t fall in Love with Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman? Problem is, the woman, Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), lived about eighty years prior! No problem! Chris goes back in time, meets Elise, and they fall madly in Love. But alas, he is somehow pulled back to his own time and can’t find his way back to the woman he loves. He dies a heartbroken man…but wait! Even though he dies, there’s a happy ending! Wanna know how it ends? He he he…watch the movie :)



PLANET OF THE APES
20th Century Fox 1968
You may not agree with Charlton Heston’s Politics but you have to agree, the guy has made some truly memorable movies! For me Planet of the Apes was one his most memorable movies ever. This movie also stars the great Roddy McDowall as the nice ape Cornelius. Based on the novel Monkey Planet, this film tells the story of an Astronaut (Heston) who finds himself on a world populated by apes and humans are relegated to being hunted down by same. Needless to say, Chuck’s pissed. He’s captured rather violently, leading him to exclaim the now immortal phrase "take your stinking paws off me you Damn dirty Ape!" Boy Chuck did have a way with words didn’t he? The final scene ranks as probably one of the most memorable in Movie history. Taylor escapes Ape city, runs off with his woman, Nova, and proceeds to look for, as Dr. Zaeus put it "his destiny". So he’s trotting along the beach, waves crashing next to him, when he comes upon something that makes him realize this planet is actually the home he left. A half buried Statue of Liberty is what he sees which leads Taylor to exclaim yet another memorable movie phrase: "You maniacs! You blew it all up! Damn you! Damn you all to hell!"



CITIZEN KANE
RKO Pictures 1941
Another groundbreaking film that was completely ahead of it’s time. It has been hailed as the Greatest film ever made. Directed by and starring the Big ‘O’ himself, Orson Welles, this Masterpiece employed techniques and shots never before attempted, truly a film that was well ahead of it’s time. It tells the story of Charles Foster Kane (Welles), a man from humble begginings who grows up to become one of the richest and most powerful men in the World. At his deathbed in his legendary Xanadu estate, he utters a single word "Rosebud" which completely dumbfounds a reporter writing Kane’s life story. He never does find out what ‘Rosebud’ means, but we, the audience does. Why does Charles Foster Kane utter ‘rosebud’ as he nears death? Watch the film, and find out! :)


IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
RKO Pictures 1946
I don’t care how many times I see this, this movie always manages to make me all misty-eyed. The scene towards the end of the movie when George Bailey, played by the immortal Jimmy Stewart, gets his old life back and realizes life isn’t too bad after all, then proceeds to run around his home town wishing Merry Christmas and exclaiming "Hello Bedford Falls!" to anything and everyone who will listen still gets me all goo-goo eyed. And yes, I do believe that everytime a bell rings, an Angel gets his wings…Attaboy, Clarence!




HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART ONE
20th Century Fox 1981
Fart jokes, erection jokes, masturbation jokes....I love it! Mel Brooks at his most hilarious! Favorite scene: The scene where Mel Brooks plays a waiter at the Last Supper. He gets angered somehow and exclaims "Jesus!". With Jesus Christ himself being right there, Jesus answers: "Yes?"








THE ODD COUPLE
Paramount Pictures 1968
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau are mismatched room mates in this hilarious story about respect and tolerance. Lemmon and Matthau truly earns their reputations as one of the most memorable and prolific film duos of all time. Years later they would prove their great chemistry hasn’t waned one bit in "Grumpy Old Men", and "The Odd Couple II". The movie also gave me a great idea of what New York city looked like in the late 60s.




RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
Paramount 1981
The hat. The Jacket. The Bullwhip. All trademark possesions of most probably the greatest movie adventurer of all time, Indiana Jones. It’s hard to picture anyone else besides Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones, but did you know Ford was only the second choice to play Indie? Steven Spielberg wanted Tom Selleck, but at the time, Tom couldn’t wriggle out of his "Magnum PI" contract. So Harrison Ford was signed and a legend was born!



LA CONFIDENTIAL
Warner Brothers 1997
Post war Los Angeles is the setting for this gritty cop drama. Police Corruption, Prostitution, and murder provide the backdrop for the story about a rough around the edges cop, Bud White (Russell Crowe), who falls in love with a hooker made up to look like Veronica Lake. The hooker is played by Kim Basinger who earned an Academy award for her performance in this film. Along the way, he uncovers corruption that leads all the way to the DA’s office, and a mass murder at a downtown LA coffee shop that isn’t what it seems. This film should have won the Oscar for best picture of 1998 but lost out when the Academy bowed to the complete box office power of Titanic. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Titanic was a bad picture at all, it was good...but it certainly was not the Best Picture of the year.




THE UNTOUCHABLES
Paramount 1987
Sean Connery earns his first Academy Award for his performance in this film where he plays Jimmy Malone, an old, beat cop who joins forces with Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) to form the Untouchables, the scurge of organized crime in 1930s Chicago. Watch out for the scene at the Train station when Ness is surrounded by the bad guys so he has to defend himself against them AND at the same time, try to catch a runaway baby in a crib that somehow finds itself rolling dangerously down the steep steps. Andy Garcia comes in to help and shoots the bad guy through the mouth! Classic De Palma! If you like your movies violent, rent this!



LETHAL WEAPON
Warner Brothers 1987
Danny Glover and Mel Gibson play mismatched police Detectives Murtaugh and Riggs in this the first of four Lethal Weapon movies. They are saddled with a case that involves a dead prostitute, and an international drug smuggling ring run by Vietnam veterans. It all comes to a head in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard in a shootout where the main bad guy gets killed when his car gets hit by a bus then explodes! Later, Riggs and the other bad guy. Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey), duke it out using Jujitsu and all that other Martial Arts stuff. One word: Action!



GREASE
Paramount Pictures 1978
Grease is the word! The most succesful musical movie of all time tells the story of Danny Zuko (John Travolta), the cool greaser T-bird, who falls for Sandy Olsen (Olivia Newton-John), the new girl from Australia. All kinds of hi-jinx ensue, culminating in Sandy’s final transformation from good girl to leather wearing nasty babe! Great songs, wonderful acting, no wonder Grease is STILL the word!



BLADE RUNNER
Warner Brothers 1982
When everyone else’s vision of the future was a squeaky clean, George Jetson fantasy land, Blade Runner made waves when it presented the future as a dirty, grimy, slime-filled world where artificial humans called Replicants are created to serve the needs of man. When Replicants go bad, special Cops called Blade Runners are employed to terminate them. Enter Harrison Ford, who takes a leave from his usual heroic roles to play a down on his luck cop,a Blade Runner who eventually falls in Love and runs off with one of the Replicants he was supposed to terminate. Incredible filmography and surreal scenes make this movie one of my favourites of all time!



THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH
20th Century Fox 1955
The ultimate Marilyn Monroe film! Watch this movie and you’ll find out why Marilyn Monroe is the revered Goddess that she is! Tom Ewell plays a writer who sends his wife and son off to live in the country for the summer. Alas, he has to stay behind in the hot, big city to earn money and to take care of the family Apartment. One day, a beautiful blonde moves into the apartment upstairs and Tommy’s life is turned upside-down! He starts having fantasies about this woman, about what it would be like to carry on an affair with her. After all he’s been married to the same woman for seven years! Thus the title of the movie. Classic scene: Marilyn passes over a subway grate and the wind blows her skirt up, one of the most famous scenes in film history! In the end, Tommy realizes that it woud be wrong to have an affair with her and runs off to join his wife and son in the country.

MORE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES!


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