What’s your favorite movie?
The question sounds simple enough, but the answer can be surprisingly hard. I was reminded of this recently when I saw a post on a blog I frequent asking readers their favorite movies.
The comments in response were interesting not so much for the movies people chose (though there were some great ones), but for the reasons they gave for choosing them. Many wrote paragraphs about why their favorite movie was also their best friend’s or father’s favorite movie. Some wrote about what kind of mood they’re in when they watch it or how many times they’ve seen it. One person even confessed that his favorite movie is one he’s never actually seen: a censored-for-television version of The Godfather that he watches on mute with subtitles turned off “because it makes me laugh.”
My favorite movie is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and my reason for choosing it is not as clever or roundabout as any of those above. As far as I’m concerned, Eternal Sunshine is simply one of the most beautifully made films I’ve ever seen – the best example of what cinema can accomplish when all its elements work together seamlessly toward a shared vision. Every shot seems carefully calculated to capture exactly what director Michel Gondry wanted to convey;
The blog is a series of interviews with people from all walks of life, asking them what their favorite movie is. The responses range from the predictable to the unexpected, and each gives a little bit of insight into the interviewee’s personality.
The blog was conceived and launched by world famous actor Michael Douglas as a way of connecting with fans. After reading about it in one of my favorite blogs, I decided to contribute my own favorite movie: “My Favorite Movie”.
I’m a world famous actor. I’m so famous you’ve probably never heard of me. But I don’t care about fame. I care about movies.
I have a lot of opinions on movies, but the one I get asked most is “what’s your favorite movie?” So here are my top three.
I was watching my favorite movie the other day, and a thought struck me: why is this my favorite movie?
I can’t say it’s my favorite because of the acting. The two leads are certainly professional, but they’re not trained actors – they’re both models. And the rest of the cast is okay, but nobody special.
One reason I like this movie is that it’s pretty funny. It’s not laugh-out-loud funny, but it has a lot of wry humor throughout.
But does that make it my favorite movie? I don’t laugh at every other film I see, even ones with real comedians in them (e.g., City Slickers). No, it’s not the comedy that makes this one special.
Nor can I say it’s my favorite because of the plot. The plot is pretty standard for this genre: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back with an impressive display of whatever talent is central to his identity (in this case, baseball).
I think most people would agree that what makes a movie great are its characters. And yet when I try to identify specific characters in this film who make it great, I come up short. The hero is just your average handsome j
My favorite movie is The Dark Knight. I love how real it feels, just like real life.
I also like how dark the movie is, and how serious it seems, just like how life is.
Since I’m a world famous actor (OK, not really), I get asked all the time what my favorite movie is. It’s hard to narrow it down to just one, because I like so many movies for different reasons. And it’s also impossible to say which movie I like the most, because that changes from day to day. But if you’re going to force me to choose one right now, today, on this particular day when I am writing this blog post, then my answer would be The Usual Suspects.
I love how that movie takes you on a wild ride and twists you around completely at the end. You think it’s one thing, then it turns out to be something else entirely. It keeps you guessing until the very end and then blows your mind when it reveals what’s really been going on all along.
Roger Ebert once said that when watching a movie he doesn’t want life imitating art or art imitating life; he wants both imitating each other at the same time! He wanted a movie so much like real life that he couldn’t tell where one started and the other ended. That’s exactly how I feel about The Usual Suspects.
A few weeks ago I was asked what my favorite film of all time was. The answer is a film I have seen many times, but always enjoy watching again: THE WIZARD OF OZ
As a child, I loved the film for its fantastic characters and story. As an adult, I love the fact that the story is much deeper than most people realize.
It can be viewed on many levels, as a children’s fantasy; as an allegory of the journey through life; or as a commentary on American society in the 1930s.
The “yellow brick road” is a metaphor for the path anyone must take to reach their goals or accomplish their dreams. The “Emerald City” represents the achievement of those dreams – but when you finally get there, you realize it isn’t what you thought it would be.
The “Wizard” himself is an illusion – a fraud who tries to make people believe he is more powerful than he really is – and only through his own wisdom does Dorothy learn that she has had all of the power within herself all along.
I highly recommend this film to everyone – especially those who have never seen it before!
