Still, there are some mainstays, some films that I hold closest to my heart for one reason or another. From my childhood I recall forever having Labyrinth and The Land Before Time whirring in the VHS player. Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid were my Disney favourites that I can still happily watch today. I remember when Beauty and the Beast and Aladin were released, and though I was very young (aged five and six respectively) there was big talk about the cutting edge animation techniques used. Even today the magic carpet ride through the crumbling Cave of Wonders never ceases to thrill, Belle and the Beasts touching and iconic scene in the ballroom still stands up to scrutiny.
Then there are the films that came out as I grew up and hold their own special places in my heart for the milestones which they mark. In 1996 at the tender age of nine, a friend and I took our first tentative steps into the world of the musical when we went to see Evita. A bit hard hitting for a nine year old perhaps, but it's stayed with me all these years. That year I got it on VHS for Christmas. A couple of years ago I replaced it with the DVD version. It gets played at least once every couple of months, and the soundtrack is wrecked courtesy of yours truly. In 1998 to mark the end of my Primary School years my dad took me and my cousins to see Godzilla. We thought it was pretty amazing. Nowadays my husband, a true Kaiju fan, holds it with a little less awe than me (oh, it's an entertaining film, but it's not 'really' Godzilla!) but let him think what he thinks! In 2001 at the age of fourteen my school friends and I started taking regular trips to the cinema together and one of the first we saw together was American Pie 2. I wouldn't otherwise class that particular film amongst my favourites, but it was particularly memorable as it was the first 15 rated film we went to see together, and being that none of us were 15 we were all quite proud of ourselves for getting in (we were all geeks and teachers pets...that kind of thing was really something to us!)
As I got older still, films turned from just a social activity to something to use in the ever tricky world of dating. Some dates were succesful, others not so much. Films that hold this particular badge of honour include Around the world in 80 days, Team America, War of the Worlds, and my personal favourite, The Chronicles of Narnia. That one in particular was very succesful as it ultimately landed me with a husband!
The past few years haven't been too bad either. I'm a great lover of the monarchy so films such as The Kings Speech and Young Victoria have made a great impression upon me. The Sci-Fi lover in me has been thrilled by movies such as Inception, Star Trek, Children of Men and Serenity. I never was much a lover of comic books, but Watchmen captivated me in ways that I never expected, and Hellboy, Ironman and the X-men series have had similar results. Fantasy hasn't had a bad run recently. Lord of the Rings anyone? Though of course, to say that was the only great fantasy of recent years would be wrong. Stardust, in my mind, was quite exquisite. And it would be criminal of me to forget to mention the Harry Potter series.
Of course I'd be wrong to ignore the great classics. I love a good musical, and all the oldies have their special place in my heart. Specifically, however, I would have to name The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady and The King and I as my great favourites. It's not all pretty ladies in frilly gowns though. The Lost Boys is an epic classic, and whilst we're on the theme of Vampires I personally love Bram Stokers Dracula with his sexiness Gary Oldman in the lead role. I don't care what anyone else says, I love it!
Which brings us nicely to the end now. Out of all of it, what is my favourite movie?
No, of course I don't mean it, what are you, high?
Truth is, I cannot place my finger on any one film. I could say Lord of the Rings, but as epic as it is, and it is epic, there are better films out there. I could say Stardust, but this would be for purely sentimental reasons that only Ben really understands. Some films stick in my mind as "the most...." such as Paranormal Activity, being the most scary ever, thus some sick masochistic urge within begs me to watch it over and over again, but it isn't my favourite.
I'm going to say that if I had to choose one film, and I wasn't allowed to watch any other film ever again, it would have to be this. It makes me smile, it makes me tear my hair out at points, it reminds me in ways of my own family and it reminds me of a certain happy day of my life. It entertains me, I don't need much brain power to process it. It isn't the best film in the world, it isn't the funniest. It isn't the most epic, it isn't the cleverest. It isn't even that clever at all... but it makes me happy and I can watch it over and over again. It can only be....
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think?