I have been thinking about this for a while now. Listing things that make me happy, think, laugh or cry or all of those things. They are positives when my depression or anxiety gets the better of me. They mean something to mean on some level. They may reflect who I am as person in some way.
I also like making lists so I thought that this would be a good thing as well and I thought I would start with movies because this has gone through a bit of change of late.
For the longest time my favourite movie was The Usual Suspects, probably one of the best pieces of work by Bryan Singer and Kevin Spacey but this opinion has changed dramatically. Don’t get me wrong I still think that it is a great movie but I don’t think I could ever watch it again. Primarily because of the conduct of both Mr Singer and Spacey in recent years. I know it is kind of ridiculous that my opinion has changed because of the actions of the director and one member of the cast but I can’t help it. It is just the way that I feel.
So I am going to list my favourite movies. I doubt that any of them could be considered the greatest movie ever made and some of them probably have seriously bad reviews and it will probably be animation heavy because I like animation a lot. They will have every have something that made me feel something in some way or spoke to me on some level.
Also I know what my new favourite movie is and I am going to leave that one to last and if you have read any of my previous posts or have read any of my reviews on my other blog you might be able to work it out. All other movies in this list are not going to be in order and that will probably be what happens in most of these kind of posts I make. I will know what my all-time favourite is but everything else can swap and change.
This list will show I am very much a modern person as they are all released within the last 25 years and all bar two of them I saw in theatre and the only reason that didn’t see them in theatre was because of timing or I found the movie after the fact. Also these movies made the list because I have watched them multiple times and have yet to lose interest in them and remember them all fondly.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner Azkaban – Alphonso Cuaron (2004)
Since I am a huge Harry Potter fan I thought I should get my favourite movie of the series out first. Now I know this one is a little divisive as a lot of fans dislike this one but for some reason it is my favourite. It might not have stuck as true to the books as the first two did but it got the right ones and told the story and made it feel magical to me unlike some of the ones that follow, especially Goble of Fire, which by the way is my favourite book, though Azkaban is my second favourite.
The Upside of Anger – Mike Binder (2005)
Now this is one that might not be known all that well as it is small movie that probably didn’t get a lot of attention but probably should have. The story follows a middle aged woman, Terry Wolfmeyer (Joan Allen) and mother of four girls who believes that her husband has run off to Sweden with his secretary. She forms a relationship with her neighbour Denny (Kevin Costner) who is a retired baseball player and a fellow alcoholic. The movie has a strong female narrative with each of the female characters having a clearly defined and all the performances are great and believable.
Inside Out – Pete Doctor (2015)
The first of 3 animated movies and strangely enough the three that I have are all done in different production styles. Inside Out is the computer generated one from Pixar (naturally). This one made me cry but I think all three of my animation choices did, well that I can remember. It is a wonderful exploration of emotion inside the head of a preteen girl and how every emotion is important even sadness.
Just Like Heaven – Mark Waters (2005)
I have mentioned this movie in relation to the music and also because of Mark Ruffalo but it is also a favourite of mine and if it is on in my house I will always sit and watch it. It is a beautiful movie about love, loss and fate and it has and will always make me cry. The story surrounds two lonely people who are brought together in a very unusual way, one of them is in a coma and her spirit haunts the other.
The Avengers – Joss Whedon (2012)
Well I am a geek and this is the first of two super-hero themed movies that I have included in this list. I personally think this is the best out the Marvel movies and it is why it was on top of my Marvel Movie list post which admittedly I will need to update but will wait until after Infinity War Part 2 comes out and I have caught up as I have yet to see Ant-Man and the Wasp and will probably not see Captain Marvel in theatre as I am not interested and neither is the Eagle, though this opinion might change, there is time after all.
Wonder Woman – Patty Jenkins (2017)
If I was going to have a Marvel movie on the list I had to have a DC one and I was naturally going to go with Wonder Woman. It is the only movie on the list that I actually went to the cinema twice to see, opening weekend with the Eagle in Gold Class and again a couple of weeks later as a girl’s night with my mother and nieces. Though admittedly it does lag a little in the end with the revelation of who Ares is it is still my favourite of the DC movies so far. Try to beat it Aquaman!!
The Lion King – Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff (1994)
This is my favourite Disney animated movie and the most original of them all, though that is under debate I guess with some comparing it to Kimba the White Lion, which I can see as I remember watching Kimba as a kid. Being Disney Animation it has a wonderful soundtrack with music by Tim Rice, Elton John and Hans Zimmer.
Empire Records – Allan Moyle (1995)
Another movie with a wonderful soundtrack but then how could it not considering that the movie is set in a record store. It is a wonderful cast with a young Renee Zellweger, Liv Tyler, Anthony LaPaglia, Robin Tunney and my favourite Rory Cochrane. This is also one of the movies that I did not see in cinema and found it later on.
Dogma – Kevin Smith (1999)
I will happily admit that I am fan of Kevin Smith though admittedly it more for his personality and his podcasts than his actual directing ability, though his work with The Flash and Supergirl has been good. I think his early work is great and if I hadn’t chosen Dogma for this I would have gone with Chasing Amy. This movie is very funny and shouldn’t be taken seriously, but then I am not overly religious.
Drum roll please………………..
Your Name – Makoto Shinkai (2016)
Well is anyone really surprised that Your Name is now my favourite movie of all time. I have probably talked just as much about this movie as I have of Harry Potter or DC in posts in either of my blogs. Just about everything about this movie is perfect in my eyes. The visuals, the characterisation, the music. I actually have one of the songs in my head at the moment. I listen to the soundtrack most days and watch it at least once a week. This is the other movie I didn’t see in cinema but that was because of limited release, timing and I don’t think anyone would have come with me to see it.
I mentioned Chasing Amy and I guess you call that an honourable mention but I have one more that I debated about including in this list and that is another Mike Binder movie called Reign Over Me. Though it stars Adam Sandler it is one of his more serious turns and it a story of helping someone overcome great grief after the most horrible of tragedies.
Pop Goes The Badger 