When Push Comes to Shove: My Favorite Movies
Submitted by jim on Fri, 05/04/2001 - 02:16
Tags:
- Top 10
- A Fish Called Wanda
- Groundhog Day
- Jaws
- Nobody's Fool
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Raise the Red Lantern
- The Seven Samauri
- The Sting
- The Thin Man
- Truly, Madly, Deeply
- Honorable Mention
- A Midnight Clear
- Beauty and the Beast
- Brazil
- Bull Durham
- Casablanca
- Cold Comfort Farm
- Emma (1996)
- Dr. Strangelove
- Fight Club
- Galaxy Quest
- Harold & Maude
- Henry V (1989)
- L.A. Story
- LA Confidential
- Mary Poppins
- The Princess Bride
- Toy Story
- The Truman Show
Author Comments:
I'm not equipped to to a "Best 10 Ever". I'll have to stick to "Favorite." I found, when making this list, especially for the "Top 10" part, that "favorite" generally (but not always) equalled "chose to rewatch the most" (with the exceptions of Raise the Red Lantern and Truly, Madly, Deeply).
Cloned From:
You cant tell at all that you like Paul Newman (sarcasm).
Funny thing is, I should probably add Cool Hand Luke to the "Honorable Mention" section.
Nice list but instead of Newman I see the Father/Child in you. Glad to see Bull Durham, that one just missed my top 20. A great adult love story set in baseball one of my favorite things
Thanks! I have to admit I felt very slightly self-conscious when posting this list after checking out other "definitive" lists folks have posted. Mine seems too thin on "great" movies. Ah well, I'll grow into 'em somebody!
Great list Jim! Nobody's Fool is a rare but welcome addition to a favorite movies list. Newman is just the coolest, isn't he?
This is as good a place as any to talk about A Fish Called Wanda. It took me awhile to warm up to it, but I have to say once the movie really got swinging, I found it hilarious. By far the funniest parts to me were the different attempts to assasinate the old lady's dogs. When that doberman took off with one of them, I laughed as hard as I have in a looong time. Kevin Kline also got funnier to me as the movie went on, and when he kept trying to beat up John Cleese, that was great. So overall, I loved it, and now that I've seen it all the way through, I suspect that if I rewatch it this summer, I'll probably find the beginning a lot funnier. Excellent recommendation Jim...
Johnny Waco
Yeah, Newman is the best, as far as I'm concerned. I think the only time he's let me down was in Twilight (and there are a fair number of his movies that I haven't seen). Most recently, I thought Where The Money Is was a nice little surprise. Looked like such a nothing movie from the box, but I enjoyed it. Not great, but fun.
So glad you liked Wanda! And I do think it's one of those rare movies that gets even better with subsequent viewings (provided you liked it the first time around).
Jim, you made this list a while ago, and since then, your tastes have broadened, I think. I was just wondering, do you think this list still represents your 28 favorite movies fairly well, or could it use a few changes?
Unfortunately, I think you're giving me too much credit for broadening my tastes. :-) While there are many more movies that I like than when I made this list, these are still a pretty good batch of favorites for me. But I really bit off more than I could chew in attempting this list, as the list might have completely different entries depending on my mood of the moment. Also, this list is heavily slanted towards those that I've rewatched the most, and that view of my movie psyche hasn't changed much at all in the past couple years. Some more specific thoughts on this list:
Were I to revise this list today, Truly Madly Deeply would drop down to the honorable mentions, Mary Poppins would drop off because it's not really *my* favorite, it's a vicarious family favorite (but still great). The Truman Show might also drop off because I only saw it once and I might be glorifying it in my mind.
Oh, I could probably find room for three Zhang Yimou movies on this list, but I just stuck with Raise the Red Lantern.
Anyway, ten just isn't enough. Perhaps I could attempt an unranked "Favorite 100" movies and be more comfortable with its stability. Perhaps I'll try that one of these days.
What a strange selection of favorites!
Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment! Although really, I could probably make different versions of this list on any given day.
I'm extremly happy to see 'A Fish Called Wanda' in the Top 10!
:-) Always nice to meet a fellow fan. Quite possibily my favorite comedy of all time, although I'd be hard-pressed to choose between it and a couple others.