Monday, March 18, 2013

Top Ten Movie Blogfest and News

Ninja Captain Alex's Top Ten Movie Countdown Blogfest is here!

It's supposed to be easy, just write a countdown of our top ten favorite movies.

Well, I have a hard time picking favorites, and I'm sure that there is some movie that's missing from this list, so I've created a top ten, and then added an honorable mention section. Nearly all the movies in the top ten list are movies that I have watched repetitively and have made me think, or laugh, or have shaped my ideas of storytelling in some way.


10. Zoom. A cheesy, fun, family friendly movie about an outdated superhero (Tim Allen) roped into mentoring a batch of new kid superheroes. My family and I have watched this movie countless times, and love it.

9. Singin' in the Rain.  A movie about movies. Excellent dancing, good singing, and just fun.

8. Enter the Dragon. A Bruce Lee classic, and a must watch for any martial arts/action movie fan.

7. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. An excellent retelling of one of my favorite books, and although some liberties were taken, I felt swept away by the magical story once again. (Runner up here: Voyage of the Dawn Treader - despite even more creative liberties being taken)

6. The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey. Peter Jackson took some creative LoTR liberties, but I loved seeing my all-time favorite fiction book brought to life. I'm hoping parts 2 and 3 are just as good.

5. To Kill a Mockingbird. How many times have I watched this movie? I'm not sure. It was a family favorite and watched every time it came on TV when I was growing up. The acting is excellent, the story is meant to be seen, heard, and read. It's hard to imagine that Harper Lee wrote only one book, and that book became this movie, and the two of them . . .well, I think the world is a better place because of this story.

4. UP. My husband told me that my list wouldn't be complete without this movie, and I found I agreed with him. It's the most heart-warming, beautiful animated movie that I've seen in my life.

3. Kung Fu Panda. It makes me laugh, and I love the moral of the story. "The secret is . . . there is no secret ingredient." Just total awesomeness. Why do I rate it higher than UP - not sure, except the awesome Kung Fu Awesomeness, and just how many times can Po say AWESOME in one sentence.

2. The Princess Bride. It's the ultimate cult classic. I recite nearly all the lines, but I am happy with just saying them silently in my head so I don't ruin the show for everyone else, and I love, love, love the sword fight scene in this movie that is both well choreographed with actual fencing moves (real fencing Maestro/Master on set and all that) and makes light of the old Errol Flynn movies.

1. Star Wars IV-VI. Yes, I've cheated on my number one. It's actually the original three movie saga. I can't say that these movies don't have their cheesy moments, but I still love them dearly. They captured my attention and my imagination in my childhood and early teen years.


Honorable Mentions: Galaxy Quest, Super 8, Jurassic Park, The Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma, Star Wars I-III, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Avengers, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Sky High, Scooby Doo 2 (only 2, not 1 or 3), Tangled, Bambi, The Passion of Christ, Romeo Must Die, Much Ado About Nothing (Kenneth Branaugh version), The Cutting Edge, Jackie Chan movies, Peter Pan (Disney, nearly any version), Finding Neverland, Miss Potter, Fred Astaire Movies, The Jungle Book, Zorro, No Reservations, XMen, Sleepless in Seattle, While You Were Sleeping, LoTR, Kate & Leopold, Nim's Island, Penelope,  and many, many more . . .

It wasn't easy picking just ten.

So, what are your favorite movies? Do you think it's easy to pick only ten?

NEWS

Writers 4 Writers: Support Kyra and Angela today!!!

 C. Lee McKenzie is offering her novel, Sliding on the Edge for free at Smashwords through Friday. Check it out!

My two daughters (14 and 11) are helping a 13-year-old friend of theirs collect donations for a new well through charity : water. The three of them are excited about this opportunity to make a difference in the world and change the lives of others who are thirsty for clean water. My daughters' friend's goal is go reach "well status" by Easter. Check it out here: Christ the Living Water.

Oh, and I won't be "here" on Wednesday, but I'll post again on Thursday for the Big Reveal for A to Z.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

I see a lot of family oriented movies here. I need to rent Zoom. My kids will love that one.

Luanne G. Smith said...

Yay for Princess Bride! And can you believe I still haven't seen Up? What's up with that? I've seen it on a few lists this morning.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Stephen - Family movies are just fun!

L.G. - You haven't seen UP, "Inconceivable!" :)

mshatch said...

I just recently watched Singing in the Rain for the first time and Up was wonderful :)

Elise Fallson said...

I should have thought about doing an honorable mention list too. It was hard to narrow down to only ten. Love your top three choices and I really need to see The Hobbit one of these days. (:

Crystal Collier said...

Finally someone mentioned Princess Bride! LOL. Great list, and I don't know how I forgot Zorro. Awesome. Of course, I'm turning my nose at Up. Stupid manipulative writers... *sniff*

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Good for your daughters!
Dawn Treader did veer from the book, but I still enjoyed it.
Thanks for participating in my blogfest!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I loved Kung Fu Panda. Both movies. They almost made my list. So did the Narnia film.

Al Diaz said...

Enter the Dragon would have been in my list too if I would would have remembered the name of the movie in English. I know it as OperaciĆ³n Dragon. Good you mentioned it, along with all others, excellent choices!

Mark Means said...

A LOT of great films mentioned there...I should have done an honorable mentions list too...maybe next time :D

Jeff Hargett said...

Yeah, I should have done honorable mentions too. "Galaxy Quest" is a hoot! A dozen times I've watched it and a dozen times I'm still grinning after it ends.

Julie Flanders said...

Fun to read through your list and the honorable mentions. I LOVED Finding Neverland and hadn't thought of that movie in ages.

Kudos to your daughter for their project and I hope they reach their goal. It really puts things into perspective when you realize there are people who don't even have access to clean water.

Looking forward to your A-Z reveal post! :)

SK Anthony said...

Oh my gosh, UP! I jut got all fuzzy... *sigh*

Natalie Aguirre said...

Great list. Mine would include many of yours. And I loved Galaxy Quest. I've watched it multiple times. My husband was watching it again a few days ago.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Hey Tyrean! Be sure to add your direct link to the list. I couldn't find you on it.

Elsie Amata said...

UP was such a wonderful movie and had me feeling all gushy inside - I love it!

Elsie Amata said...

UP was such a wonderful movie and had me feeling all gushy inside - I love it!

Elsie Amata said...

UP was such a wonderful movie and had me feeling all gushy inside - I love it!

Christine Rains said...

Yay for the Princess Bride. Awesome list! It was so hard for me to pick just ten. Thanks for shouting out about the W4WS too! :)

Tyrean Martinson said...

mshatch - great! Up is just a wonderful movie!

Elise - The Hobbit is definitely worthwhile!

Crystal - yes, Princess Bride and Zorro! and yes, Up was a bit manipulative but I liked it anyway.

Alex - You're welcome! It's been fun!

Diane - the Kung Fu Panda movies are great!

Al - Thanks! It's kind of cool to learn the names in Spanish.

Mark - that's right, next time!

Jeff - Galaxy Quest is always great!

Julie - yes, it does give some perspective.

S.K. - yes, it's a fuzzy sweet movie!

Natalie - great minds think alike :)!

Elsie - me too.

Christine - it was really hard to pick just 10.

Birgit said...

Well I have Singing In The Rain on my list and the fred Astaire films with Ginger. Love your picks and To Kill A Mockingbird is a beautiful film

Unknown said...

It's really hard to stop at ten, when there are so many great movies out there!

Angie said...

Great list of movies!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Birgit - Great! Fred Astaire was a brilliant dancer, and To Kill a Mockingbird is a wonderful film!

Adriana - There are so many great movies!

Angie - Thanks!

Samantha May said...

To Kill a Mockingbird is awesome! It's my favorite book too!

The first ten minutes of UP sent me spiraling into a depression. Seriously. So. Freaking. Sad.

Great movie though.

Arlee Bird said...

Fred Astaire movies? I'm his biggest fan. Put those in your top ten. You can leave Singing in the Rain though. You've got all kinds of good stuff going here.

Lee
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog

jaybird said...

T- I think you and I could curl up on the couch and our families could watch a movie marathon together, any time! Your choices are all great! I've watched all of these and loved them all.

nutschell said...

Star Wars made my list too. And Up and Kung Fu panda definitely are in my top 50
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Cherie Reich said...

Great list! And it was easier to pick ten once I shortened my to a genre. :)

Tyrean Martinson said...

Samantha - Hooray for A great book and a great movie in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Lee :) Thought you might like the Astaire movies!

jaybird - cool! Family movie nights are the best!

nutschell - your top 50! Love that, and wished I had thought of that idea.

Cherie - Thanks! I think shortening mine to a genre would help me too.

Allison said...

I guess cheating's allowed when it comes to Star Wars ;)

Allison (Geek Banter)

LD Masterson said...

Ah, a couple classics. To Kill a Mockingbird and Singing in the Rain.

Did you see the quote that the first nine minutes of UP was the more beautiful love story ever filmed?

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Maurice Mitchell said...

I enjoyed these movies too Tyrean! I can't think of another movie that could take the number one spot for me either.

Unknown said...

So many great movies here. I love Singing in the Rain, and Kung Fu Panda. Up pretty cool too. So many great movies in your list.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

UP was wonderful and left me in tears.
You have a great list here.

xoRobyn