This never used to be the case - I am the biggest movie buff ever. I would go to the movies once a week before I had children. And now, well... it's just sad.
Up for Best Picture: Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, Precious, A Serious man, Up, and Up in the Air.
I've seen Up in the Air - which I loved - and Inglorious Basterds, which I loved even more. My vote for Best Picture? Inglorious Basterds. Because Tarantino can do no wrong!
Speaking of movies, I thought I'd share with you all a condensed list of some of my favourite movies, regardless of whether they won an Oscar or not.
Stand By Me
I saw the movie before I read Stephen's King book. This is my favourite movie ever. And of course, I loved the book once I read it. I saw Stand By Me a couple of days ago, and I was reminded how incredible this movie was. Every time I watch it, I fall in love all over again.
The story... the amazing cast... the end of innocence for four young boys on an adventure. This movie gives me chills. It's just perfection, from the acting, to the feelings that are evoked when you listen to the conversations between Gordie (Wil Wheaton) and Chris (River Phoenix, RIP, my first crush). Now Stephen King is a master at everything he writes, but I think this was his best piece of writing ever.
This movie also recently opened my eyes because now, as a mom of two young boys, I see things differently. How boys at that age are just as sensitive, just as emotional, as girls. And also? The trouble they can get into! I'm scared for what's to come!
P.S. The pie eating contest is still gross no matter how many times you see it.
P.P.S. And the leeches, too. Ack.
The Godfather I, II, III
Of the three, my favourite is Godfather II. DeNero, Pacino, Pacino, DeNiro... after seeing GodFather Part III, I really wanted to be in the mafia. It goes without saying that these movies are among the greatest movies to ever come out of Hollywood.
Goodfellas 
Scorsese's masterpiece! This movie is worth seeing for the quotes alone. And Ray Liotta. And Joe Pesci. And Robert DeNiro. Again, another gangster movie that I love. I have seen this movie so many times! And you know it's a good movie when every time you see it, you want to see it again. It's all drama, but at the same time, very funny too.
Best quote:
"Funny how? I mean, funny like I'm a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I'm here to fucken' amuse you? How da fuck am I funny? What da fuck is so funny about me? Tell me. Tell me what's funny."
Scarface
Here I am, on my nice little mommy blog, talking about my love for Scarface and Tony Montana. But come on... this was the movie that made Pacino into the star he is! This movie is graphic. And depressing. And funny, at times. And tragic, even. But if you haven't seen it yet, you should. Because it's a classic. And it's written by Oliver Stone, and I only JUST found that out.
Best quotes:
"I always tell the truth. Even when I lie."
"Say hello to my little friend!"
Dazed and Confused
Best. Movie. EVER! Okay, not best ever, but best 'last day of school' movie ever. I have seen Dazed and Confused 10 billion times, and I never get bored of watching it. It also makes me really, really depressed and it makes me want to be in high school again. The music is awesome - so is everyone in the movie. Dazed and Confused was voted third in Entertainment Weekly magazine's list of the 50 Best High School movies ever!
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
A classic. Everyone loves this movie. Need I say more? I'm moving on. I just had to include this, because, you know. It's awesome! Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller? Which brings me to...
Anything and everything by John Hughes, including:
The Breakfast Club (my love for this movie is immense, IMMENSE!) Some Kind of Wonderful, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink (sigh) Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and my 4 year old's current favourite movie: Home Alone.
Kill Bill
I know a lot of people hated this movie - but I loved it. I can handle any type of movie, and this? Was one of Tarantino's greatest. Uma was brilliant. And Kill Bill II was really cool, too.
Dirty Dancing
There is not one single girl on earth who does not love this movie to death. This is probably one of my most favourite romantic movies of all time. Above all else, I loved dancing because of this movie. RIP, Patrick Swayze!
Best quotes:
"I carried a watermelon."
"Nobody puts Baby in a corner."
Honourable mentions - I loved ALL these movies so very much, too, for different reasons. All of these movies are amazing, and worth seeing if you haven't yet.
Ocean's 11. Top Gun. Mean Girls. Chicago. Schindler's List. My Best Friend's Wedding. Say Anything. Gladiator. Love Actually. Elf. Pulp Fiction. E.T. Breakfast at Tiffany's. Dead Poet's Society, The Notebook, When Harry Met Sally. Zoolander. Legends of the Fall. Pretty in Pink. American Beauty.
Now I'm totally in the mood to watch some of my favourite movies again!
What's on your must-see list?
Comments
As I mentioned on Twitter, Princess Bride is a must-see. So is Swingers, Sneakers, The Sting, and Back to the Future trilogy. It's a Wonderful Life is an annual watch-again for me. Plus, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
But I agree 100% on the rest. Up until Dirty Dancing - I was going to say that you have some serious guy taste in movies. I wonder what Tarantino thinks about Dirty Dancing...
Mine:
Ferris, Tombstone, Step Bros, Holy Grail, Heat, Casino, Die Hard, Shawshank, The Rock, Hangover
My favourite movies are actually the ones that don't get a lot of attention, but become cult classics... like "Grosse Pointe Blank" or "So I married an Axe Murderer." They are pure gold.
Did you see the "Best Movie Ever" post Maria (Bored Mommy) did the other day about "So I Married and Axe Murderer?" I guess I'm not alone in my love for that one. It made me want to watch it again.
I have only seen one Oscar nominated movie. Oh well... definitely not gonna get a chance to watch them before Sunday. :(
Kate... I know! I'm such a guy when it comes to movies!
Scott: I love Shawshank, too! And Casino. And Die Hard is awesome funny. My 4 year old has seen it, too. Is that terrible?
It's funny how our movie choices tell us a lot about who we really are. You have a wide range of fantastic movie choices here, and I don't know if I've ever seen Dazed and Confused on the same list with Goodfellas LOL.
I also don't much care for Dirty Dancing unless they are, in fact, dancing.
One more on my list because I am a huge fan HARRY POTTER!!!
As for the Oscars, I have seen a few of the nominees including Avatar which I think will end up winning but that's just because of the popularity.
Great Post! Need to go to Blockbuster now!
I'm a HUGE fan of the Oscars and believe me I will be watching all the hoopla before hand too! I often pop some popcorn get some wine or beer and sit and chill for 3 hours and make my hubby take care of the kiddos!
I enjoyed Inglorious Bastards, and District 9(that was surprisingly good) and UP in th Air. I'm rooting for The Hurt Locker to take it home...tired of the BIG production movies always winning.
Happy Oscars!
And I hope The Blind Side wins because I loved, loved, loved that movie.
And, I'm sorry to say, the only film I've seen from those nominated for best picture is District 9 and I swear it is THE WORST movie I have ever seen. Seriously, don't watch it. I nearly threw up.
Great movies. My all time favorites are Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Top Gun, So I Married An Axe Murderer (like other posts! I am so excited about this!) These are favorites because I can watch them over and over and I typically don't like to watch movies over and over.
Others: Fight Club (hated it the first time I saw it, now love it!), Sound of Music, Anne of Green Gables, Godfather I and II, The Royan Tenenbaums, Beauty and the Beast (Disney) and I am sure there are a couple others I am forgetting. Fun topic!
And I do like Dirty Dancing. It has been on TV a lot lately. I realize that I know every word to every song from that movie because at one point in my life I was obsessed with the soundtrack.
Fave movies, off the top of my head:
- the Notebook
- Less than Zero
- the dance movies: Flashdance, Dirty Dancing, Save the Last Dance
- The Shining (a classic!)
- the musicals: Mary Poppins, Grease, Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera (I would have included The Wizard of Oz but reading Wicked totally ruined it for me)
I also really loved a bunch of old movies with Marilyn Monroe, Gene Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and the like - but with the exception of My fair Lady I haven't seen them in years, so I don't remember them well enough to add them to the list.