I think I'm going to talk about movies today.
One of my favorite producers/actors/playwrights is Tyler Perry. Seriously, if you have never heard that name before, go check out some of his movies. All of his movies to date have had good, Godly messages in them, and it is a breath of fresh air to see these films winning mainstream awards. Go rent one now. Deanna introduced me to his films with Madea's Family Reunion, and I almost died laughing. To quote Larry the cucumber, "I laughed, I cried, it moved me Bob."
Deanna sometimes gives me the "what are you thinking" look when I mention watching a few of the movies in my video collection. I admit, I have a large, strange video collection.
Side Note: I say "video" collection and not "DVD" collection because I still own about 20-25 movies on VHS. For those who aren't as old or older, those are what predated DVDs and BluRay. Back to the blog.
I have a collection of what I refer to as "standards" or "classics". These are movies I think everyone should watch at least once, if not own just to be considered a good movie watcher. The Negotiator, Die Hard, Minority Report, Scent of a Woman, Lake Placid, The Green Mile, and quite a few others. Most of these I have convinced Deanna to watch with me on the nights it's my turn to pick a movie. Some of them that are standards in my collection she scoffs at. Two particular ones are Stand By Me and Major Payne. Now, I can guess some of you are thinking "Major Payne?! You really consider that a standard???" Well, yes, I really do. Not only is it a great work of comedy, but it has some of the best quotes I've ever heard.
Side Note: She's not even here, and I can tell she's laughing at me when I said the last line. I deserve it though. I am a total dork, and most of what I consider great movie quotes end up being super dorky when I say them. In fact, most of what I say comes out super dorky. She loves it though, and I am more than happy to oblige! Back to the blog.
I joined ROTC in college, and watching that was a requirement. It's one of my favorite movies now. Mostly cuz of the ROTC thing, and the Marine Corps thing. Yes, I was in the Marine Corps. (I'd rather not talk about it in this post though, it's better left for later.) As for Stand By Me, I loved the pie eating contest scene. And I watched it when I was 12, so I could relate to the characters. Deanna, however, won't watch those with me. She says Damon Wayons voice in Major Payne bothers her, and Stand By Me depresses her. I guess I'll just chalk this one up to one of our differences, and leave it at that.
So, dear readers, what movie(s) do you consider "standards" or "classics" that are in your collection? I'm curious to find out if we have the same types of movies.
I know everyone says this one, but Shawshank Redemption & then maybe Plains Trains & Automobiles. Those are the only ones I can think of right now. All the movies you mentioned are pretty good, but I never really liked Scent of a Woman. A lot of people do though.
ReplyDeleteMelissa
Shawshank Redemption is one of the standards in my VHS collection, I love it!
ReplyDeleteI still need to see Shawshank Redemption. I've been deprived I guess. ;)
ReplyDeleteDeanna
For me and your brother Austin, First Knight was one we watched over and OVER and OVER! It always seemed new everytime we watched it again. My all time favorite movie is Dirty Dancing. Patrick Swayze (bless his heart in heaven) has a way of moving that absolutely makes me feel 16 again and remember true love.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in the mountains near where that movie was made. I have stayed in camp cabins like were in the movie. I've been to that hotel in the mountains. It's pure nostalgia of my teen years near Asheville, NC. It's not the story, it's the setting, the music, the dancing and Patrick.
It's the story of a geeky Jewish girl who falls for a cool guy who happens to have a heart although he's every girl's heartthrob. He brings her out of her shell into womanhood, really falls for HER, geeky Jewish gal and all, and vindicates the Po boy in all of us grits, because he's right, the rich guy is trash and gets found out.
The dance moves, the music make my mouth water! It's a movie that actually brought one autistic little girl out of her lost world when she watched it and today she is completely normal. Dance, good dance has a way of doing that, it rehabilitates. Swayze is a legendary dancer. My second favorite move is another of his: "Thanks for everything, Wong Fu". (may have that slightly wrong.) Swayze plays a drag queen and it's both funny and poignant.
He defends an abused woman and changes a whole town who protect him when the cops come looking for him. Never thought Swayze could look good in drag!! Yes, I am weird, like my son.
My last and final favorite movie is: Starman with Jeff Bridges. Always dreamed of an outer space guy as a hero not a villain. Great movie, love story, really funny and moving! His expression when he eats apple pie with whipped cream is priceless! My favorite moment is when he brings the deer back to life and upsets the hunter who killed it.
Aren't movies great? Without them we could not escape the mundaneness of our lives or the tragedy of the world. Red is next on my list to see. Anytime they can get Helen Mirren (Queen Elizabeth) to look sexy with a gun, that's a movie I want to see!
Hugs, your weird Mom