Monday 18 March 2013

Top Ten Movie Blogfest



Welcome to Alex Cavanaugh's Top Ten Movie Countdown! Today participants list their favorite movies of all time. This was a hard list to come up with because it often changes. But right now, here are my top 10:

E.T.
This was the first movie to make me cry and the first to get me thinking about extra-terrestrial life and the cosmos.







Fantasia

This Walt Disney production came out in 1940 and required over one thousand artists and technicians to bring to life approximately five hundred characters. Aesthetically speaking, this movie is a feast for the eyes and concert for the ears. The fantastical theme and concept behind Fantasia created a motion picture event that was avant-garde at the time. It pushed the limits of animation and sound production, and was the first feature length animated movie to match animation to classical music in such an extraordinary way.  It changed the way animators applied music to their projects, but unfortunately, the movie got mixed reviews when it came out. Many critics though it pretentious and with WWII underway, along with the tense political climate, many people didn't respond favorably to the movie. 

Years later, Fantasia was re-released and I watched it for the first time in the early 80's. I was young at the time, but it instantly transported me to a world of Sugar Plum faries, dancing mushrooms, cupids, centaurs, evil spirits, pegasi and dancing hippos. I fell in love with all the characters with one exception, the part featuring Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer's apprentice. I'm not sure why, but I never really liked that segment and always wanted to skip it to see the rest of the movie. Sorry Mickey. Nonetheless, the movie has received many accolades and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." (wikipedia) 

As for me, Fantasia has left a life long impression that I cannot clearly explain, nor do I really want to.   


My Fair Lady

This is the one movie/musical that stands apart from my usual taste in films. It has a lot of sentimental value to me and even though I doubt it would be considered PC to today's standards, I still enjoy the story, the music, and humor. And, I'm not ashamed to say I can sing along to every song and still get a kick out of lines like: 

"Come on Dover, move yer bloomin' arse!"

♫"Women are irrational, that's all there is to that. Their heads are full of cotton, hay, and rags. They're nothing but exasperating, irritating, vacillating, calculating, agitating, maddening and infuriating hags!"♫

"You oughta be stuffed with nails, you ought!"


Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

I remember being blown away when I first saw this movie. What really impressed me was the cinematography and martial arts scenes. Watching Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi sword fight was simply AMAZING. Want to know what else is amazing? Watching Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi fight with lightsabers




Princess Bride



Make me laugh, that's all I ask.

This comedy had it all, action, humor, wit, and romance. And to think neither Cary or Mandy had ever had any prior experience sword fighting, yet with a lot of training and determination, managed to pull off some of the best sword fighting caught on screen. "Chapeau."   






IV: A New Hope (1977), 
V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), 
VI: Return of the Jedi (1983).

Three. Epic. Movies. 

The other three made after Return of the Jedi (which I refuse to even name), can be listed under Star Crap. I'm not going to drone on about this series, I'm sure they will be on several lists today. 

Avengers


Loki: "Enough! You are, all of you, beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by . . . "

The Hulk: 
*smash, smash, smash, smash, Loki like rag doll* 

"Puny god." 

I really don't need to add anything more to this either because: 
Avengers = Awesome. 




How To Train Your Dragon

I loved everything about this movie from the story, the animation, to the movie score. Normally, I don't like watching movies over and over again (I'm the same way with books) however, I've watched this film several times and never get tired of it. The movie also contains my all time favorite scene of any movie, the part where Hiccup touches Toothless for the first time. That scene was so well done, down to Hiccup's reaction just after making contact. It was perfect and gives me the warm fuzzies every single time. Plus, there were some great lines in the movie too:  

"Excuse me, barmaid! I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra-large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side. This here, this is a talking fish-bone!"



Thanks for hosting this fun movie blogfest Alex, off to see what everyone else has on their list! 
(:  

70 comments:

  1. Fantasia was one of my favorites as a kid. The Princess Bride makes me smile every time I see it, and Star Wars is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your list is the first one I've come to where I've seen all the movies! I love How to Train Your Dragon, and Avengers and E.T. and... okay, I love your list :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Now I'm going to be singing songs from My Fair Lady in my cockney accent, and I won't be able to sleep! I'll have to revisit Princess Bride, as I'm even more of a Mandy Patinkin fan from his work on TV. Great list and thanks for providing the clips too Elise.

    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think if they do a remake of My Fair Lady, Russell Crowe is a shoe in for the Rex Harrison part. Very similar singing styles.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Avengers! And The Princess Bride just missed my top ten.
    Isn't that wild to realize that Fantasia flopped when it was released? And have you ever been to a midnight showing of it? You just thought Rocky Horror brought out all the weirdos....
    Thanks for participating in my blogfest!

    ReplyDelete
  6. NOOOoooooooo I forgot The Princess Bride and their most romantic of quotes:

    “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.”




    Swoons.... (but with ManCard held close, in a deathgrip, perchance...)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice! We have similar tastes. I love most of those, I haven't seen avengers yet (I know, we're very behind) and E.T. freaked me out when I was little and I've never been able to work up much appreciation for it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I loved ET. I got to see that one in the theater as a kid.

    Fantasia (no offense to the talented artists or you) seemed boring to me after a while. My kids' nanny used to play that to get the boys to fall asleep for their naps. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  9. I adore ET, too! I just got a DVD of "How To Train Your Dragon" and am really looking forward to seeing it. Thanks for the fun list! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Can't believe I left out the Princess Bride.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love Star Wars and How to Train Your Dragon. :) Great list!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ah, I see another favorite of mine that didn't make my list. 10 was too small a number. lol

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh, I love so many of these movies.

    I can (proudly) sing all the songs from My Fair Lady, too.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love movies so much, I could never narrow it down to just ten. I do love the Green Destiny remixed as a lightsaber, though. That's pretty freaking awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  15. How to Train Your Dragon was such a sweet film.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Prince Bride…made me smile to see it made it on someone's list. I liked that one, too. What a great list of movies. Seems we have some in common.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I have never seen Hot to Train Your Dragon. Must do that.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great choices! All of those are in my top 50 faves :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I absolutely love How to Train Your Dragon! Uhm . . . so do my children, of course. :D

    I forgot to put Star Wars on mine. Darn!!! Love your list. :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hey, I have a couple of those on my list! Awesome. :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Fun list! I love all these movies!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love pink elephants on parade (Fantasia) and, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Great choices.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I loved Crouching Tiger & How to Train your Dragon. You got some good ones. :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Awesome picks and the only one you have that I haven't seen was Crouching Tiger and I'm not sure why. I might have to Netflix it and see what I'm missing :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oooh, you reminded me of E.T. I love the part where Elliot gets a hug from E.T. at the end and E.T. rubs his back with all the music playing.

    ReplyDelete
  26. You have some great choices! Avengers is such an awesome movie and that scene you described... LOVE it!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh Fantasia and How to Train Your Dragon are two of my favorites! And I love love love the header!!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Your list made me realize that, as much as I love dragons, nary a selection in my top ten list had any. Perhaps I should reconsider. ;-) I had forgotten about Crouching Tiger though. It still wouldn't have made my top ten, but it was a most excellent movie. (As were several of your other choices.)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Wonderful choices Elise. One would think I would have included how to train your dragon, but then again, I can't be trained. :D

    ReplyDelete
  30. Yay for Princess Bride. And now I've seen How to Train Your Dragon on three lists! Everyone tells me to watch that. Why haven't I listened? Must watch that soon.

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a great list!! I have this clear memory of seeing Fantasia for the first time when it was re-released in a theatre. My mom was soooo excited to have me see it and it was definitely magical.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Awesome list!!! I love all the movies you have on here. And How to Train a Dragon is one of my favorites, too. :)
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

    ReplyDelete
  33. Yeah!!! How to Train Your Dragon and The Princess Bride, love those movies!!! This has been the funnest blogfest! :)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and How to Train Your Dragon and such great films. Wow, they both have dragon in the title. Funny. Great list, sista!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Love ET! My hubby's initials are ET and his nickname has evolved over a long period of time. Now he's just called Struh, as in ex-struh-terrestrial. So ET is forever on my mind!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Inconceivable! I love The Princess Bride. There are so many great lines from that movie.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Really great list and couldn't agree with you more about "Star Crap," lol.

    ReplyDelete
  38. What a fun list! I'm starting to wonder if Princess Bride won't take the prize for being on the most lists. Such a classic!

    Shannon at The Warrior Muse

    ReplyDelete
  39. We love the variety! Something for everybody! Thanks for stopping by Cover Girls today!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Great posting! Thanks for sharing! Oops :)

    Hey Elise, what a varied selection you have. Ah yes, "E.T". The wee folks in my magical garden are doing a version of that movie. "WEE.T. phone gnome."

    I promise this comment wont 'dragon'....

    Your starstruck fan,

    Gary :)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Like you, I have watched DRAGON several times. Did you know that the CARTOON NETWORK has aired two season of cartoons based on this movie with most of same voice actors? I have downloaded both seasons (ten episodes each season) onto my Kindle Fire HD. The quality of animation and writing are surprisingly well done for TV. I hope you can catch the episodes somehow, for they capture the spirit and fun of the movie!

    ReplyDelete
  42. classic movie excellence!
    dragon i cannot live without!

    ReplyDelete
  43. ET was the first movie that made me cry, too!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Your Audrey Hepburn movie made me realize I forgot to fit Breakfast at Tiffanys in my list.

    ReplyDelete
  45. I almost included ET - such a classic. I have to watch How To Train Your Dragon!

    ReplyDelete
  46. I didn't have a good musical on my list, so for you I'm including SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS! I could have a serious movie marathon with your list!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  47. Exellent choices. I first saw E.T. at the theater with two friends. Luckily, one brought a full size box of tissues. We used the whole box.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Those are awesome picks!!! I can't believe I forgot to mention any of them . . .there are so many good movies!

    ReplyDelete
  49. Avengers and Princess Bride seem to being running number one and two. How To Train Your Dragon is a great Viking / Steampunk movie my kids watch over and over.

    ReplyDelete
  50. I *WISH* I could be as badass as the gals in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  51. Crouching Tiger, hidden Dragon had some of the most badass women ever. And high fives on the Star Crap. I am trying to convert my nephews who are under the delusion that these are great movies. Avengers rules, saw it 3 times in the theater, something that only happened with the LOTR films for me.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Fantasia definitely fascinated me as a kid. We didn't own it though so I only watched it a few times.

    The Princess Bride is just an excellent movie. Never gets old.

    And that was hands down the best scene in The Avengers :D

    ReplyDelete
  53. PS.. rent/buy My Big Fat Irish Wedding... your Dad is a smart man :)

    ReplyDelete
  54. ET just barely missed my list, and I see we both love Princess Bride! Can't imagine why I'm not shocked about My Fair Lady. ;-)

    Great list. After reading all these, I need to have a movie weekend. Some I haven't seen, and some I want to enjoy again.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Oh, Fantasia was the first movie I saw at the movie theater. Back in those days we popped a bag of popcorn at home to take and got all dressed up... Great list!

    ReplyDelete
  56. Thanks so much for stopping in everyone. Wish I could reply to every one individually, but I'm short on time. But thanks again for the comments, hopefully I've made it to all your blogs as well! (:

    ReplyDelete
  57. Great pics, Elise! Princess Bride will always be a fave for me too. "Anybody want a peanut??"

    ReplyDelete
  58. My kids and I loved How To Train Your Dragon! Star Wars is one of my faves too!

    ReplyDelete
  59. This is the first time I've seen ET in the fest, which I'm quite surprised by. Fantasia made a similar impression on me, although I'm not a classical music fan. So trippy! The Night on Bare Mountain was quite scary, and I did think Mickey's performance was good. :)

    ReplyDelete
  60. ET was a really good movie I enjoyed it more than once. I have seen the Stars flicks you mentioned and agree everything after was a milking of the series. I thought Fantasia was an epic movie for Disney...and my wife loved it so we own it. I will have to see some of the rest including the Tiger and Dragon. Good job.

    ReplyDelete
  61. ...I've seen them all, loved them all. Great choices!

    El

    ReplyDelete
  62. Loved E.T., Crouching Tiger, Princess Bride, the original Star Wars (I too am not a fan of the new ones). I am however one of those rare weirdos who was more "eh" about the Avengers. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  63. fantasia!!!! ok, you are flying your skinny little butt over here with your kids and we are having a kids night with fantasia. hurry up, buy that ticket!

    ReplyDelete
  64. Hi Elise - some of these I haven't seen ... but My Fair Lady - is a definite yes! Fantasia ... and ET .. certainly made me cry! Fun list to see - cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  65. Great list. LOVE THE AVENGERS!!! Well, I think you knew that. But, I also loved How to train your dragon. The scenes where they meet, I still hold my breath. My 7 yr old and I watch the tv show now too.
    Great job, sir!
    HMG

    ReplyDelete
  66. I'm so sorry that I wrote Sir on my comment above. I was actually typing and listening to a program my husband was watching about the military. No joke. I apologize for typing that. :(
    HMG

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL! No worries Heather and no offense taken at all.(: It actually made me laugh and I honestly needed a good chuckle. You can call me sir anytime. :D

      Delete
  67. I'm rather late to this party!
    The one thing I remember clearly about E.T. is the scene that drove everyone to tears...
    I've heard so much about the Princess Bride. Now I'm curious.

    ReplyDelete
  68. I haven't even THOUGHT about Fantasia in ages. It gives me a sense of nostalgia. Great list! :3

    ReplyDelete
  69. Oh my goodness, this is rocking hot list. Right on point for me. Love, love, love The Princess Bride.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment!
Comments are the best. Well, the nice ones are. (:
I do my best to reply to everyone either via e-mail,
directly in the comment box or by leaving a comment
on your site. Chat with you soon!

Also, not interested in your spam. Really, I'm not interested.

J'écris, donc je suis (:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...