my life in films

I came across this post on author Kaye Dacus's blog this morning, and I couldn't resist making my own list. After all, I do love me some movies!

Films that Remind Me of Childhood

• The Sound of Music. When I was little, we didn't have a VCR, so I didn't get to watch many movies. My grandparents had one, though, and every time we visited, I wanted to watch The Sound of Music. And I pretended (in my own head, of course--not aloud) that I was Liesl.
• The Three Stooges: Disorder in the Court and Malice in the Palace. This is another video we always watched at my grandparents' house ... and my grandma hated it. Disorder in the Court was my favorite, but I always watched Malice in the Palace, too. Both films are on YouTube--here and here!
• Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. After watching this movie, I sat on my little brother and made him promise never to do drugs! Remember how I said we didn't have a VCR? Well, we didn't, but the school did, so my dad would let us use the VCR on weekends. (My parents were boys' dorm parents.) This movie didn't belong to us--it was always on the TV cart, and we always seemed to watch it. If you're a child of the '80s, you've gotta watch it! (I am amazed at how much I remember of it!)
  
• The BBC/Wonderworks productions of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; and The Silver Chair. My uncle gave us these one Christmas, and we watched them over ... and over ... and over!

Films that Defined My Teens

• While You Were Sleeping. This movie came out when I was an 8th grader--and even today, it's my favorite movie!
• Derby. Honestly, it's not that great. But I still love it for all the memories it brings back! My cousins and I watched it ad nauseam--so many times that my video tape began wearing out and the sound eroded!
• Newsies. This movie (and the music) became my obsession. I first watched it at a friend's birthday party, and it quickly became one of my favorites. It's hard to fathom now, but I searched and searched and searched for the movie and sountrack (how did I live without Amazon?)--and I didn't get either one until early college. My sister and I still have Newsies sing-alongs on road trips!
• The Princess Bride. Didn't see this until the 8th grade, even though it had been out for years. It quickly became one of my family's favorite films.
• Liar, Liar. I'll admit it: I lived a pretty sheltered childhood. And I do believe most people in my class had a perception of me that was way off. So I guess this makes sense, but still ... When Liar, Liar came out, my friend Dori and I made plans to see it. We were talking about said plans in Spanish one day, and this guy turned to Dori and said, "Don't take Becky to that movie. She won't like it." Well, guess what, Jeremy? I did like the movie, and I even own it now. And every time I watch it, I think of that incident.
• Anne of Avonlea. How many times did I rewind and rewatch the kiss at the end? It's probably better that you don't know!

Films that Defined My College Years

• The Matrix. Though I loved science fiction TV (like Star Trek: TNG and Stargate: SG-1), I never watched sci-fi films ... until The Matrix. The story absolutely blew me away, and the special effects were pretty cool, too! (Parts 2 & 3, though ... not so much!)
• Snow White: A Tale of Terror. During my first semester at Grace, I didn't have any Thursday afternoon classes. Neither did Danielle, this other girl on my hall. We never hung out or even really talked at any other time, but most Thursdays we'd end up in the lounge together watching movies on Lifetime. One Thursday, this was on. I've never seen it again, but every time it comes to mind, I remember Thursdays with Danielle.
• A Walk to Remember. I could name one of about a dozen chick flicks here, but of them all, A Walk to Remember was my favorite. I loved the story. I loved the soundtrack. I loved Shane West.

Films When I Need a Good Cry

• Brian's Song (2001 TV movie, not the original). This is the only movie that consistently makes me sob--I even start crying before Brian gets sick because I know what's coming!
• Up. The beginning. My heart just breaks for Carl!

Nightmares from Films

• Only one. Arachnophobia. I watched about five minutes of it once, had a nightmare about spiders that night, and have stayed away from it ever since!

Films that Are Guilty Pleasures

• My sisters would tell you that most of the movies I love could fit into this category ... but here are a few that I'll concede: Lost in Austen, Holiday in Handcuffs, Family Plan, This Time Around, Picture Perfect (the Richard Karn movie, not the Jennifer Aniston one). Yes, I have a thing for TV movies!

The Last Film I Saw at the Theater

• The Help. Just saw it last night with my mom, aunt, and cousin. Loved it!

A Favorite Film Few Others Seem to Know About

• If you've been reading my blog very long, you already know what I'm going to say, as I simply can't stop talking about it: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend! (If you click on the link on the title, you'll go to Hulu, where you can watch it right now.) Alyssa Milano. The always adorable Christopher Gorham. Jimmy Olsen himself, Michael Landes. A brief appearance by Tiffani from California Dreams. AND it's a cute story.

What about you? Leave your answers in the comments, or better yet, write about it on your own blog and post the link in the comments. And please, if you haven't yet watched My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, do it. You'll thank me later.