May 30 Days Writing Challenge - Day 19: Name Top 3 All Time Favorite Movies
30 Days of Writing Challenge by @dragosroua
Well, this is a hard decision. I have always enjoyed movies of all genres, as long as it has a good story and acting to go along with the story. For a few years, while I was in college, I worked for a 2nd run movie theater. If a movie was popular, we would run it until the audience didn't want to come out and see it any more. The theater only had 2 screens, so we didn't get a lot of movies, because we could at most show 4 at night and 4 in the afternoon. Some movies would last one weekend and others would last months. If a movie was there long enough, I could tell where the movie was by the music being played or other loud sound effects.
Picking out my favorite three isn't any easy choice, but for now, I stick to these, because if I see them playing, I will most likely keep the channel on and watch it all the way through.
Forrest Gump (1994)
The epic movie starring Tom Hanks is probably tops on a lot of people's lists. It won a lot of awards. The trailer below says it is the "official" trailer, but it is not the trailer I remember from the movie theater days. When I first saw the trailer, I knew the movie was going to be huge.
Apparently there were some changes to the character of Forrest Gump in the movie compared to the book. In the book, it was Forrest Gump doing all the swearing, as oppose to the supporting cast. I think that change made the character a lot more enduring and helped make a better movie.
The story is great in Forrest Gump and the cinematography is gorgeous, especially during the "running" portion of the movie. Having the benefit of seeing it almost every night for weeks on the big screen helped make this a winner for me.
The Fifth Element (1997)
Science Fiction is my favorite genre of movies. If you are going to watch a movie to escape the current world and join a new one, then Sci-Fi is the best way to do it. The debate about what is the best Sci-Fi movie is huge and The Fifth Element is as contentious as whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
A lot of people don't like The Fifth Element for its corny aspects, but I think that's what helps make it a great movie. It is a Sci-Fi movie that is about having a great time on a great adventure. It isn't out to give you a guy punch of scare you, it is telling a story of being human and love and throwing an amazing world in front of you.
There are acres of other worse Sci-Fi movies to complain about, but I will never back down from enjoying The Fifth Element.
Better Off Dead (1985)
If you grew up in the 80's, then you are familiar with all the crazy summer movies that were released. A lot were bad. John Cusak is on record for hating the movies he did in the 80's, but apparently he changed his mind when he did Hot Tub Time Machine. If you blink, you might miss John and his sister Joan Cusak in Sixteen Candles, which is probably his first big appearance before he did Better Off Dead. It is hard to believe that The Sure Thing came out before Better Off Dead, because it is a more serious movie. I swear it came out after his other summer movies, but I digress.
Anyway, Better Off Dead is your typical teenage angst/depression movie with a humor twist. The story is off the wall and almost feels like three or four separate movies entangled into one. The jokes are all over the place and for a teenager it was extremely entertaining, which is why I always call it my favorite movie. No, it isn't the best movie, it isn't the funniest movie and it might not even the best story. But, there is just something about this movie that I just like it soooooo much.
One of the most interesting parts of the movie is the cartoon animation, which was done by the movie director, Savage Steve Holland. He also used it in One Crazy Summer. I think it could have been used in a series of movies, because it was such a great addition to the story.
If this is the official trailer, it was horrible. I don't remember it as the official trailer. The only thing I remember from the trailer was when Lane falls into the dump truck and the black men working in the tree say "That's a real shame when folks be throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that." But, it was the 80's, so it probably is the official trailer.
Which is better? Speaking no English or speaking Howard Cosell?
The only Camaro I would own, because it looked so great in this movie. There used to be a site dedicated to it, by the guy who found it and restored it.
The three movies I listed also have one thing in common.
They have tons of quotable and meme worthy scenes and lines. And in my mind, that's what makes these movies even better.
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Forrest Gump made my Top 3, too (No. 1, actually), so we're definitely in agreement there. Only movie that I've seen twice in theaters and the only one of two movies I saw by myself. It's been over 20 years since I've seen it, though. One of these days I'll sit down and watch it again. When I'm looking for some nostalgia. :)
I liked The Fifth Element. It's on the quirkier side of Sci-Fi, but I also like the genre, so that's fine. It's another movie I haven't seen in a long time, so it would be like watching it for the first time.
I was a child of the 80s, but I didn't watch a lot of the teenage movies growing up. Footloose was about it. Maybe a couple more that now escape me. As a whole, I haven't watched a whole lot of movies with John Cusack in them. Not necessarily by choice, but because I didn't find the subject matter that appealing. The movie 2012 was about all I know I've seen him in, although he's supposed to be in Stand By Me, which I finally saw last year, but I don't remember him in it.