13

An old friend, who I'm sad to say I don't ever talk to anymore, has this killer blog that I frequent semi-regularly. She's truly an amazing person, independent, talented, gorgeous, and sadly has gone through a lot of shit from the sound of it, but she's someone that I wish I could be more like, so I figured I'd start by trying to follow her blogging lead. Erin recently started with this Thursday Thirteen, it's this site where you blog 13 of something every week.(I realize it's not Thursday but get over it) ...now that sounds like something that I could do but where I am completely incompetent with the computer I couldn't figure out the codes. So I'm going to try to keep up in my own way. This week she did her 13 Favorite movies, here's mine.

1. Aliens-- not a very girlie movie, I know. But it happens to be my all time favorite film. Sigourney Weaver, Micheal Biehnn, Bill Paxton teamed with James Cameron for the sequel to the horror film, and ended with a sci-fi masterpiece. Probably my favorite quote from it is: "If it comes to that, I'll do us both" Aww a romance.
2. Princess Bride--I actually remember seeing this in the theater when I was 13, (1987) I fell in love with it. A few years ago I went to see it again at the Kentucky (Yes I know all the lines by heart, and I've probably seen it 1000 times, but it was on the big screen again). After I saw it again I finally broke down and read the book, this is a case where I liked the movie better, not a bad book, but just not the movie. And anyone who knows me, knows that's usually NOT the case. Hmm it's a toss up for me for the favorite line it's either "As you wish," which my family still quotes, or "Good Night, Westley, Sleep Well, and Most likely we'll kill you in the morning."
3. Labyrinth --Another one of those movies from way back when, and probably on every 30+ year old girls list. I have to admit, every time I watch this movie, I love to pretend that I'm Sarah, and that David Bowie is coming for me. My favorite line from this on is "If she'd gone that way, she'd have gone straight to that castle..." But the whole sequence of "Dance Magic Dance" makes me want to throw babies up in the air. LOL
4. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir--(1947) Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney. This movie just recently came out on DVD, but it's been one of my favorites for about 30 years. Lucy Muir a widow, decides that it's time to move on, so she leaves her mother& sister-in-laws to move into the beautiful Gull Cottage, which happens to be haunted by the ghost of Captain Daniel Gregg, a sea captain that accidentally died when he kicked on the gas.--- "My dear, since Eve picked the apple, no woman has ever been taken entirely unawares."
5. The Fog--Not the horrible remake either. (John Carpenter should have sued for ruining his movie.) The original version of this movie is the reason that I have an irrational fear of fog. Seriously when I have to drive on foggy nights, I make sure my windows are rolled all the way up and I pray that nothing is going to be in there.--- "Hey, there's a fog bank out there."
6. Halloween--I seem to have a thing for John Carpenter. As for genres of movies, I'd probably say that horror is probably my favorite (That I'm pretty sure came from my mom, I remember watching things like The day of the Triffids, Psycho and The Thing at a young age), and that Halloween is my favorite series of scary movies. Move over Freddy, Outta the way Jason...Micheal is a much more scary villian. And what makes him so scary? Could it be that he's a crazy psycho killer? Could be. Could it be that he's wearing William Shatner's face? That's probably it. Actually it's everything about him. Jamie Lee Curtis starts out her Carpenter career in these movies, and becomes the scream girl that every other scary movie female strives to be.---Toss up, "But you can't kill the boogie man!" and "Two roadblocks and an all points bulletin wouldn't stop a five year old."
7. Stranger than fiction-- I'm not a Will Ferrell fan at all as a matter of fact the only reason I went to see this film was because it had Emma Thompson (I love her) in it. But this movie was absolutely wonderful and I've actually reconsidered my dislike for his comedy because of it. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Blazes of Glory when I get a chance. Maggie Gyllenhaal is so cute in this movie too. My favorite scene has got to be where Harold brings her character, Ana Pascal, the flours.--- "It's not schizophrenia! I just hear a voice in my head "
8. Harry Potter--I admit I love the books better, but who cares. I'm a huge fan and can't wait until the last book comes out, looking forward to the movie that month too. My favorite out of all the movies is probably Prisoner of Azkaban. (could be because it's got Emma Thompson in it, heehee) Actually it's because it introduces you to Sirius Black, who is probably my favorite character. There's way to many scenes and quotes to rehash so I'll leave it at, "You're a wizard Harry"
9. Love Actually--There is nothing about this movie that I don't love. Seriously, I have taken this movie to work with me and watched it 2-3 times a day, and then gone back and watched it the next day. The cast list is so wonderful, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson (again), Laura Linney, Hugh Grant... So much wonderfulness I wouldn't even know where to begin.---"Don't disturb the eels"(it's actually an homage to the Shrieking Eels in Princess Bride)
10. Strictly Ballroom--Baz Luhrmann's directorial debut. And I've loved everything he's done since. It is because of this movie that I now watch Dancing with the Stars every Monday night. No, I've always thought that ballroom dancing was kinda cool (I know I'm a nerd) but this movie really did make me want to learn the Paso Doble.--- Notable quotes: "A bit of musicality, please!" and "A life lived in fear is a life half lived."
11. Anastasia--Out of all of the animated movies, it was a huge toss up between Sleeping Beauty, Jungle Book, Aladdin, Quest for Camelot, Ferngully, and the newest fav., Happy Feet. I'm a animated movie junkie too, surprise, surprise... I ended up choosing Anastasia because it's one of those movies that probably every little girl saw and then pretended that she was the heroine. It didn't hurt that Meg Ryan and John Cusack voiced the lead characters, along with Hank Azaria as Bartok. That period of time has fascinated me since I started working at White Hall, and I started researching the Czar's. I'd love to know what happened to her.---"Oh sure, blame the bat. What the heck? We're easy targets."
12. The King and I--Another genre that I'm crazy about is musicals (I get that from my father I think), and it's extremely hard for me to pick a favorite. With classics like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, My Fair Lady, Jesus Christ Superstar to more modern adaptations like Rocky Horror Picture Show, Phantom of the Opera, and Rent, it's just so hard. But I choose this one because again I love the story. It's been done so many different times, but for me the best is with Yul Brynner and music. The scene where he asks Anna to dance and then steps into her, sliding his hand toward her is just sexy. My favorite quote has got to be "Death is not worse pain than an empty life," but mom and I are always telling each other " Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera!"
13. Peter Pan--This last pick was really hard, it ended up being a three-way-tie between Finding Neverland, Peter Pan, and Hook--all dealing with the same theme, Adventure and a boy named Peter. All are great for different reasons, F.N. tells the story of J.M. Barrie (portrayed by the Beautiful Johnny Depp)as he's writing his best known novel(one of my all time favorites BTW). P.P. is the story the J.M. Barrie wrote about a little boy's amazing adventure, with his mind set on never growing up and always having fun. Jeremy Sumpter (a Kentucky boy) did a great job portraying Pan, as well as Jason Isaacs who was fascinating as Captain Hook. Finally, H. obviously a comedy, is just the continuation of the story, what happened once Peter finally did grow up, where the Adventure took him from there. Robin Williams makes for a hysterical Peter, as only he could. The best quote ever referring to these movies for me would have to be one that has been used many times, in many other movies, "Second star to the right, and straight on til morning."