Top Dozen Movies

So, funny thing happened to me this week. My teacher gave us an assignment to write a list of our top twelve favorite thing in one catagory of our choice. So, guess what I did? Yes, I wrote a list of my favorite movies. Small world, huh? Anyway, here they are. The dirty dozen.

Top 12 Movies (In no Particular Order)


1. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) Nia Vardalos, Michael Constantine
A Greek woman tries to go against her family and marry a non-Greek man. This movie is so funny. It’s funny without being offensive, and without being incredibly crude. I love the way this movie manages to be sweet, romantic, and hilarious at the same time. It’s the perfect balance of all three, and you are seriously missing out if you’ve never seen this movie.

2. School of Rock (2003) Jack Black, Joan Cusack
A man needs money when his friends kick him out of their band, so he takes a teaching job at a prep school. When I first heard about this movie, I thought it was going to be stupid. But I was totally wrong. I mean, seriously, who would’ve thought that watching school kids write rock songs would be so entertaining? But, anyway, I like this movie for a lot of reasons. First, it’s hilarious. Second, everyone in the movie learns a lesson. There’s some substance to the movie, it’s not just fluff. And third, the music. I don’t know why, but there is something so satisfying about watching the main characters get up on stage at the end of a movie, and have a bunch of people cheer for them.

3. The Great Escape (1963) Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough
Men at a prisoner of war camp in World War II plan a huge escape from the camp. This is an odd choice, I know. But this movie is so good. It’s got heavy stuff in it, and intense parts, but it is such a fun movie to watch. I love watching their heads pop out of that hole in the ground one by one, and when they’re moving through the tunnel, it’s just so intense that you want it to go on forever. I love watching the characters develop throughout the movie, and watching them build the tunnels, and it is so satisfying when one of them finally reaches up through the hole and rips a clump of grass out of the ground, and passes it down the line. Something about this movie makes you love it, no matter who you are.

4. Cinderella (1950) Disney Animations and (1997) Brandy Norwood, Bernadette Peters
A woman is tormented by her evil stepmother and stepsisters. Ha ha, I know. But I love Cinderella! I always have, and always will. The question is, which version? Well, I decided that I would tie all of them, since choosing my favorite would be too hard. I mean, how can the animated fairy godmother compare to Whitney Houston? But at the same time, the Roger’s and Hammerstein’s songs get a little more tiresome than the Disney ones. And why do I love this movie so much? Mostly, because it always turns out the same. Cinderella always wins, she always wears the pretty dress, she always leaves the slipper behind. I mean, how can any other heroine compete with that?

5. Pride and Prejudice (1995) Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth
How do you describe this one? The plot has so many twists it ties itself into knots! Pride and Prejudice is a great book, but when you see the characters up on the screen, it just brings the characters and all their vibrant personalities to life. Watching Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy and Mr. Collins play their parts never gets old. I love this movie because you never quite know how it’s going to end. I always can’t quite figure out what’s going to happen in the middle. You laugh, you cry, and you can’t wait to see the ending, but at the same time you don’t want it to end.

6. Catch Me If You Can (2002) Leonardo DeCaprio, Tom Hanks
A boy runs away from home and becomes the world’s best con man. This movie is intense, but extremely enjoyable. The acting is amazing. That’s really what makes this movie so good. Leonardo DeCaprio is excellent as the lead, and Tom Hanks is entertaining as the detective trying to catch him. I love watching Frank William Abignale Jr. become a con man, as well as an airplane pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer, over and over again.

7. Back To The Future (1985) Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd
A boy accidently time travels and messes up his parents’ relationship. I love this movie to death! Watching that scene where the lightning strikes the clock tower gets me every time. What I love about this movie is that it combines everything I like in a movie into one. There are intense parts, and funny parts, which is hard to come by, and a lot of hectic running around. The acting is great, the story is good, and this movie definitely has magic.

8. Guys And Dolls (1955) Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons
A man who runs an illegal craps game bets a high-stakes gambler that he can’t take a woman who runs a mission to go out with him. Where can I even start with this one? I can’t even explain how much I love this movie. I’ve been watching it since I was about 5 years old and didn’t understand anything about it except that they sang songs. My favorite was Adelaide’s song about getting a cold. I still love watching her sing about post-nasal-drip. This is a timeless movie about romance and has people doing illegal things in it so it scores a 10.0 for me.

9. Casablanca (1942) Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman
Classic romance/drama about a man and woman torn apart by World War II. This is just an incredible film. I love the romance, the drama, the acting is amazing, and the directing is flawless. The story is so passionate and beautiful, and feels so real when you watch it play out on screen. As you see it, you can feel everything that the characters are feeling, it’s like they are just going to jump out of the screen.

10. Moonstruck (1987) Cher, Nicholas Cage
Romantic comedy about an Italian family who is dealing with all the different problems in marriage. This movie is very insightful. I loved the interesting look it gave at all different sides of romance. When I saw this film, I was able to grasp all of the character’s dilemmas, and I got to know all the characters through the course of the film. I was struck by the way the story felt so real and the way everything was presented very plainly and truthfully.

11. Mean Girls (2004) Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams
A girl goes to high school for the first time after a life of being home schooled, and is taken in by the most popular girls in school. This movie is incredibly funny. It seems like a teen drama at first, but after you see it for the first time, you realize it is actually hilarious. I love the way this movie was written and acted. The jokes really drive the movie, but without Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, this movie probably would’ve bombed.

12. Strictly Ballroom (1992) Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice
A man who comes from a long line of ballroom dancers decides to make up his own dance moves and compete with a poor Spanish girl. There are so many things to love about this movie. The dancing is gorgeous, the costumes are glittery, and the characters are crazy. The basis of a young person going against family tradition is old, but the dancing and multiple twists in the plot line make it new and interesting. The dance numbers are flashy, but fun for everyone to watch!

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