Confession: Chances are if you make a reference to or start talking about a movie (even a popular one), I haven’t seen it. [Anyone who knows me in person knows this to be 100% true!] I attribute it partly to the fact that my dad told us that we couldn’t watch PG-13 movies until we were 18 and so we watched the same Disney movies on loop, and party to the fact that I typically don’t have the patience for movies and would rather read a book.
The other problem is that I really don’t like branching out when it comes to movies. I associate each of my favorite movies with a certain feeling, so when I am in one of those moods, I just want that particular movie.
Well, over the weekend I was thinking about that short list of movies that I revisit over and over and realized that a lot of them are movies that other people typically haven’t seen, so I thought it might be fun to share those with you and hopefully inspire you to try one of my personal favorites!
Then maybe one day I will finally get around to watching one of those “classics” that everyone talks about like The Sandlot or Dirty Dancing. Yep, still haven’t seen those.
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THE GOOD GUY: “Ambitious young New Yorker Beth (Alexis Bledel) wants it all: a good job, good friends and a good guy to share the city with. Of course that last one is trickiest of all, as Beth discovers when she falls hard for Tommy (Scott Porter), a handsome, young Wall Street hotshot. Just as everything seems to be falling into place, Beth meets Tommy’s shy, clumsy co-worker Daniel (Bryan Greenberg) – and soon learns that the game of love in the big city is a lot like Wall Street – high risk, high reward…and everybody has an angle.”
My favorite part about this movie is how it the characters and the story line reveal themselves over the duration of the movie. The film is full of foreshadowing and I catch something new every time I watch that I hadn’t noticed the time before. Perfect late night watch.
A GOOD YEAR: “After years of no contact with his Uncle Henry, London banker and bond trader Max Skinner (Russell Crowe) learns that Henry has died intestate, so Max inherits a château and vineyard in Provence. Max spent the summers of his childhood there, learning maxims and how to win and lose, and honing his killer instinct (at chess, which serves him well in finance). Max goes to France intent on selling the property immediately. Memories, a beautiful woman (Marion Cotillard), and a young American who says she’s Henry’s illegitimate daughter (Abbie Cornish) interrupt his plans. Did Max the boy know things that Max the man has forgotten?”
The cinematography of this film is incredible; the film contains frequent flashbacks to Max’s younger days as a boy at the château and the lessons he learned from his Uncle Henry. This movie will remind you to relish the simple pleasures of life and is guaranteed to make you want to pack up and take the next flight over to Europe. Perfect rainy day watch.
BEGIN AGAIN: “Greta (Keira Knightley) and her long-time boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) are college sweethearts and songwriting partners who decamp for New York when he lands a deal with a major label. But the trappings of his new-found fame soon tempt Dave to stray, and a reeling, lovelorn Gretta is left on her own. Her world takes a turn for the better when Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a disgraced record-label exec, stumbles upon her performing on an East Village stage and is immediately captivated by her raw talent. From this chance encounter emerges an enchanting portrait of a mutually transformative collaboration, set to the soundtrack of a summer in New York City.”
This movie is great if you love musicals like me. Just like a musical, the songs of the characters are carefully placed throughout the film to further the storyline which gives it great dimension. In my opinion, the best part is that Greta and Dan’s “collaboration” is to make an album not in a studio, but rather all throughout New York City, on rooftops, in alleyways, on the subway, etc. It’s absolutely beautiful and leaves me feeling inspired. The movie acts as a love letter to one of my favorite cities but what I admire is that it isn’t done the same way that most movies do it, this one shows more of the raw imperfections and makes them magical. Perfect anytime watch.
CATCH AND RELEASE: “After the sudden death of her fiancé, Gray Wheeler (Jennifer Garner) finds comfort in the company of his friends: lighthearted and comic Sam (Kevin Smith), hyper-responsible Dennis (Sam Jaeger), and, oddly enough, his old childhood buddy Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), an irresponsible playboy whom she’d previously pegged as one of the least reliable people in the world. As secrets about her supposedly perfect fiancé emerge, Gray comes to see new sides of the man she thought she knew.”
Not sure how exactly to define this movie, it is drama, grief, friendship, discovery, and humor all wrapped up into one. This movie contains so many amazing one liners that my sisters and I always say to one another. The film brings us to question how well we really know people and shows how our preconceptions can be blinding. Perfect late night watch.
Have you seen any of these?!
If you do watch one, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
