What are some of your favorite movies to watch and why?

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has become a favorite of late. Good triumphing over evil. Bigger purpose...never know when you will fall into a new world...

I like foreign films and was a big fan of Merchant-Ivory films. Room with a View is one of my favorites along with my Beautiful Launderette.

Maria, I understand. I no longer fear death for sure. In fact, there are so many people there whom I miss so much that I practically long for it.....Sometimes it feels like I live in the twilight zone here...Mama is more there than here these days..she's alive as far as breath, but surely is not living...I commented on another thread this morning that at times it feels like I am literally living in a funeral home, except that I change her and see if she will drink some ensure every couple of hours...a very sad existence...for her and for me...I frequently find myself singing that old time hymn "This world is not my home"....quite frequently...

My husband and I saw the Shadowlands DVD in early 2000's.
Anthony Hopkins was great as CS Lewis (my favorite author).
Some years later - Bill was diagnosed with cancer and we took our own journey into the dark.
The movie did a good job showing ....... the raw pain, hope, pain, agony, fear, darkness. Bill and I made that journey together in 2010. We loved each other always and not a day goes by that I don't miss him. I embrace that sacred ache - it's my longing to go home.
Truth is, I fight resentment toward the elders who have taken over my home. Their presence casts a twilight zone over the house. (a smelly one)!

But I try to find purpose in giving solace to these other human beings along the way.......till I go home.

Oh Maria...I love Shadowlands as well...also Legends of the Fall....I love almost anything with Anthony Hopkins..but those two are all time favorites....

On a more day to day tv level...I have to admit I am a huge fan of the series The Walking Dead....heck, lately I feel like I am a character in that one...

My two favorite movies are:
Shadowlands with Anthony Hopkins.
The Apostle with Robert Duvall

Ah...Music flicks. Best ever was AMADEUS with Tom Hulce as the composer. A great costume drama, beautifully done with wonderful music.

The movie Quartet is one of my favorites. Story of retirement home of musicians and old loves. Maggie Smith is great as always.

Ya know, I was in a motel in south MI returning from visiting my parents and came across SCREAM QUEENS 2 hour pilot on the motel basic cable. I couldn't stop watching the d*mn thing. It was soooo over the top, nothing sacred murder and mayhem in the sorority world of these nasty girls. I felt very guilty for watching the thing for 2 hours. Me..A 60 year old guy.....and before you write me off as an old pervert, the neat thing about the show was watching the girl nerds. It was good stuff. But I tuned into the series later at home, with my wife, and it did seem a little yucky. But the pilot was truly great black humor.

Not a movie,, but I watched a Scream Queens marathon today.. and it is so funny!

Have any of you seen "The Book Thief"? I wouldn't call it one of my favorites but it was very good and I was not expecting that. I think it represents WWII issues well. Very thought provoking. I caught it on "on Demand"

I remember Hachi. A good movie, four stars. I love Akita. Spoiler alert: Who does that, lets the dog out because he wanted to go? That question plagues me as so many proponents of "It is their choice movement"" would let their two-year old cross the street alone "because they wanted to." (An exaggeration to make a point.)

Just remembered Hachi, based on the true story of Hachiko, an Akita who maintained an evening train station vigil waiting for his owner who had died 10 years ago. It's so touching, but also so emotional. You'd definitely need a box of Kleenex if you watch this movie.

The Cohen brothers grew up in Minnesota. Fargo captures very well the bleak landscape of the upper Midwest. Ethan Cohen once remarked that Minnesota is like Siberia only with family restaurants.

One of their first films was BLOOD SIMPLE. An amazing tale of murder and mayhem in a small dusty town. I think it was one of Francis Mcdormands first movies.

Also chek out the new season of FARGO on the FX channel. Pretty good stuff...

Ummmm.....finished......love that you too love a fav movie of mine, also (I have the DVD) but wow.....plz stop w/the "it's a true story" stuff.....NO.....FARGO, the movie, has zero basis in truth.....more credit to the brilliant Coen bro's.....and their imagination......

Oh yeah, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Fargo... I think it was golf lady who said it best... It's a great black comedy. My favorite line..next to " I just think I'm gonna barf." Or " prowler needs a jump." Or " It's my deal, Wade." and we can't forget "Would that be your buddy in the chipper then?" very disturbing that it too is a true story. greed does ugly things to people. OMG the scene when Frances McDormand goes to lunch with her husband at the buffet... Ladling piles of food on to their plates as if they've never seen food before all while do you know the way to San Jose plays in the background...such a cheerful rendition. I almost peed my pants when I saw the Accordion King poster on the teenage son's door. Again I'm aware of the tragedy that it's a true story, but everybody I knew at the time was quoting that movie for months.

let us not forget Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, such a great movie and I don't think Katherine Ross was ever any more beautiful except possibly in The Graduate... Also an epic film.if you want to totally escape and break at least my rule to watch fiction, Inside Man was really well done. A bank robbery movie... I really liked Bandits as well...a great bank robbery movie with lots of twists and a surprise ending. Great escapism!if you need a good cry We Are Marshall. So tragic! I don't need to say anymore about that true story. Fracture with Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling, was a great murder mystery...a little-known movie called The House of Sand and Fog... Tragic and realistic... Very visceral with Ben Kingsley in the lead male role. Excellent movie! One of my top 10 will always be Legends of the Fall...another of Anthony Hopkins crowning achievements. That movie reminds us that we can do everything right and it doesn't necessarily mean things will work out the way we had hoped... as if any of us need to be reminded of that fact...I cry through it every time I watch it and still want to watch it every chance I get it's a Western and we both love it. Broken Trail it's a Western and we both love it. Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church exemplify men of courage and honor. Great movie! I don't think we can go wrong with Robert Duvall, especially in a western, but I don't think I've ever seen a movie of his that I didn't like.another Robert Duvall Western is called Open Range...some might find it a little slow moving in parts but the scenery makes up for it, now that we've seen it so many times it's one of our favorite movie to fall asleep to. Annette Bening shows up as the sister of the town doctor. Kevin Costner is among the cast members as well.My husband just reminded me of The Fighter with Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale who incidentally plays a great crackhead in this true story about Micky Ward and his boxing career. China Moon with Ed Harris and Madeleine Stowe is a great murder mystery.. Whodunnit kind of thing...it goes without saying American Sniper was stellar, but difficult to watch for my husband... Too many memories. My husband was that guy in so many ways. He said it was well done and realistic. If you're reading this you may have figured out I have access to both Netflix and Vudu, so I can pretty much watch any movie that we wish...Movies are our selfish pleasure because we are so tired at the end of every day. Before we start the movie we cross our fingers the phone won't ring for us to find out that a sink is leaking or there is a brown spot in the lawn, or daddy's hearing aids need tuning up and we needed to know that at 11 o'clock at night. He will even call when a button on his remote stopped working. We always find out these problems are based on user error. Anyway about movies We are running out of material because they simply don't make movies like they used to. Every once in a while we are pleased by an exception to , my husband cardiologist told him if he doesn't get rid of his cell phone, I can start planning its funeral. We changed his number... Told daddy the new number and said its for emergencies only. He continued to get 10 + calls a day from my father. we had to pull the old white lie trick and tell him we disconnected my husbands cell phone because people would not respect the doctor's orders. Of course we are only speaking about my dad, but what he had to say to that was. " Can't these G D idiots take a hint and leave you alone? " it never occurred to him that it was him that was calling all the time. Everybody else maintained radio silence.Once again thanks for listening, my friends and partners in Misery...which BTW was also a great movie I thought, but I am a big Stephen King fan. Good night and God bless.-finished

Just saw Tom Hanks Bridge of Spies. If he does not get academy nomination I will eat husband hat. Understated but powerful performance by soviet spy actor

GardenArtist, Oorah!!!

Windy ridge, I just asked my former Batallion Recon Marine husband what's the most realistic war movie he has seen and without hesitation he said Saving Private Ryan. I have seen it as well excellent movie... Very difficult to watch, but my husband has been in active combat several times and he said the sounds and sights are extremely realistic. Now that is an accolade you can stick a pin in.

I haven't heard anybody mention The Notebook yet... I know it seems to romanticize Alzheimer's a little bit... But it's a great movie to escape with and have a good cry. I can't help but be a romantic because my husband is the most romantic man in the world. Very lucky in that respect!

GardenArtist, thanks for the shoutout for my husband. he definitely earned it. He has taught me so much about the way our government really works and I must say I'm a bit in shock sometimes. I wanted to let you know that we too enjoyed big miracle, and also executive decision although that was pretty hard to buy into in my opinion. My husband reminded me that if you shoot a gun in a plane, you stand the chance of losing cabin pressure and that was not addressed by the movie. Oh well that's whwere you a Marine? Were you a Marine?

Best war movie ever, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Tom hanks supported by an excellent cast, script and direction. Has just finished a book of interviews with survivors of D Day. The movie captured their memories perfectly.

Best Nam movie, PLATOON, with Charlie Sheen before he was an idiot.

I like the following movie series.

1. Rocky because I like movies about the underdog winning.

2. Star Wars because it is good science fiction.

I also like movies like, The Blind Side, that are about a real person's life.

Sorry...should have been some of WHOM to be proud - wrong word.

And BTW, there are some others here who are either former military, military daughters and/or military wives. I was thinking it would be nice if we had our own Sub Forum!

Finished, I enjoyed Game Change because of the inside look at the politics of the election - the selection factors, priming of the candidates, focus on winning as opposed to the real issues... and more. It wasn't necessarily illuminating in terms of that really happens behind the scenes, but it was presented well through the movie format.

I felt the same interest for the Too Big To Fail movie. Although I'd read some books on it, including one written by a fired Lehman Brothers banker, it was still insightful.

So much goes on behind the scenes that we voters never know about.

Your husband certainly is someone of which to be proud. Oorah!!

Garden Artist, this is finished. You are the only one that commented on Game Change and yes my husband was a Force Reconnaissance Marine and he was also a third battalion recon scout sniper. I am very proud everyday of him and his accomplishments for our country. he is still every bit the Marine in his everyday life. They say once a Marine always a Marine and its very true!

Christmas Vacation. Laugh out loud every time. And Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers..... Hilarious !!

There was another movie that I've watched more than a few times, not because it was enjoyable but because it was so moving, and so heartwarming that people came to the rescue of wild creatures.

Big Miracle is the story of Operation Breakthrough, in which 3 trapped grey whales drew the attention of concerned people in Alaska to help free these trapped whales.

Google "big-miracle-real-story" - the article in the Alaska Dispatch News is one of the best I've read.

It's not an easy movie to watch, as the baby whale eventually disappears and is presumed to have died, but the ending, as a Russian ship plows through the ice to create a breakthrough pass, really can bring tears to viewer's eyes.

Electric Horseman with Robert Redford was another touching movie about human intervention on behalf of a wild creature.

Fly Away Home is a charming story of a young girl who reluctantly has to leave her home area after her mother's death and travel across the world to live with her father, but discovers and finds a place of her own in her father's somewhat remote area when she adopts a gaggle of abandoned baby geese, eventually leading them south in her own "mother goose" homemade airborne substitute, to the delight of crowds and onlookers who follow her journey.

Keep some Kleenex nearby if you watch any of these movies.

The Hundred Foot Journey with Helen Mirren about French restauranteur and the Indian family that moves across the road and opens a competing restaurant. A wonderful movie with terrific performances by older actors that is not just about blowing things up. And the food pictures are mah-velous.