What's your favorite movie?

Originally posted to Xanga on March 3, 2008

I love watching movies. It is my all-time favorite way to spend time. So picking just one is kind of hard. But my current favorite is Catch Me if You Can, yeah, with Leonardo diCaprio, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielburg. Why? Because it's inspirational. It was funny, because I saw it the week before my 16th birthday. And in the movie you have this kid, just turned 16, his life is falling apart, so he runs out of there and becomes a pilot. Then a doctor. Then a lawyer. He travels the world, and granted, he rips off a lot of people, but he had the ambition to achieve amazingly high heights. All starting shortly after his 16th birthday. When I first saw it I was really worried about where my life was headed and whether or not I had the capacity to aim high, and watching this movie gave me the encouragement to do big things in the here and now. I don't have to wait to grow up to make an impact. God can use me here and now.

I have seen a lot of really excellent movies in my short life, and dozens of wonderful movies come to mind, but only a few that have been real, long-standing favorites. So, runners up were:

Beauty and the Beast: long time favorite movie. It's witty, colorful, clean, and the themes are so positive and uplifting. Sacrifice, intelligence, love. I love the story, and I love the characters, and I love the songs.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: You cannot beat the silliness of this movie. I'm a big geek about the importance of history, so I like that aspect of the movie, but mostly it's just quotable fun on film. And you gotta love Keanu Reeves.

The Princess Bride: It's a family classic. I was raised on this film, I was saying "Have fun storming the castle" before I ever even saw the movie, and it's lovable on every facet. You've got romance, comedy, action, drama, and fantasy, all thrown together. The book is even better.

I have a lot of other favorite movies, certainly not limited to, but encompassed by the following:
The Prestige, Awakenings, A Beautiful Mind, Master & Commander, 3:10 to Yuma, Little Women, Batman Begins, Newsies, Pocahantas, Empire of the Sun, The Court Jester, Anne of Green Gables, Pride & Prejudice, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, White Nights, Timeline, Robin Hood, Back to the Future, Anastasia, Pirates of the Caribbean, Much Ado About Nothing, The Princess Bride, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, On the Line, The Last Samurai, The Importance of Being Earnest, Ocean's 11, Ocean's 12, Ocean's 13, Dead Poets Society, Day After Tomorrow, Maverick.