Monday's Musings - Favorite Movies and TV Shows

It's time for another Monday’s Musings post and our chosen topic this week is favorite movies and TV shows.  I’m going to narrow the field down a little bit because I feel like topic is one that could take on a mind of its own.

First off, I’m going to stick to movies.  The main reason for that is, I’m completely addicted to a certain TV show at the moment (see last week’s office tour post) and I if I tried to write anything on that topic it would be way more than anyone wants to read and basically just an excuse to include pictures of a certain person. J So instead, I’m going to write only about movies, specifically my top five favorite movies that are based on books.  These are in no particular order because I couldn’t possible rate them.

Check out the links below to see what movies and TV shows my fellow bloggers are into:

Chris Allen-Riley

Tess Grant

Lynn Doezema

To Kill a Mockingbird

One of my all-time favorite books is also one of my all-time favorite movies.  Atticus Finch is an amazing father figure and no one could have played him as well as Gregory Peck. 

Robert Duvall plays the infamous Boo Radley in one of his first film roles.  It’s almost strange to see him play such a shy, quiet character since one of the things I’ve always associated with the actor is his powerful voice. 

The story is one that portrayed a very serious and touchy subject through the eyes of a child, and I think the movie was able to do the same thing in an equally impressive way.  While Scout may not have understood 100% of the situation, she experienced the emotions of those around her and knew this wasn’t just any trial for her father.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Little Women

There have been many versions of this move over the years and I’ve seen them all, but my favorite is the version with Wynona Ryder and Susan Sarandon.  No one could play Marmee like Susan Sarandon and who doesn’t love a young Christian Bale as Laurie? 

I especially love the re-creation of Orchard House, which is such an integral part to the story.  It was so true to life, it made you feel like a part of the March family and I always wanted to be Jo. 

While the other versions of the movie are great in their own ways, this one stands out because the actors come across so natural, it pulls you in and you forget you’re even watching a movie.

Little Women

Pride and Prejudice

Like Little Women, there are many versions of this movie; my favorite is the BBC version with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.  Colin Firth *is* Mr. Darcy as far as I’m concerned.

This version, while close to five hours long, is totally worth the viewing time.  It runs as closely to the book as just about any movie I’ve ever seen and the locations used are straight from Jane Austen’s imagination. 

This movie is one I always watch when I’m sick, getting lost in the scenery and characters makes me feel better every time.    

Pride and Prejudice

The Princess Bride

The love story in this move is timeless, but it’s the characters other than Buttercup and Westley that really clinch it.  Inigo Montoya has one of the best lines in all of movie history.  Say it with me now, “Hello.  My name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die.”

Andre the Giant is wonderful as Fezzik (he is the brute squad) and Billy Crystal is beyond funny has Miracle Max.  Westley is the hero we all want who would fight for his love to the end of the earth, even when he’s mostly dead. 

When I was younger I would get annoyed at the breaks in the story that pulled you back to the present and showed the grandfather and grandson.  As I got older though, I realized the importance of those scenes and it just made me appreciate the story more. 

The Princess Bride

The Last Unicorn

This one is a new addition to this particular list, I only recently found out it was based on a book.  Like the story of Buttercup and Westley, I have watched this movie more times than I can count.  So many times, in fact,  that when I pulled it out a few weeks ago and watched it for what was probably the first time in five years I still knew every word.

The basic synopsis is this:

There is a unicorn in a forest who overhears two hunters talking and learns she is the last unicorn left in the world.  She meets a butterfly who tells her the story of the Red Bull that took away all the unicorns years ago.  She decides to go on a quest to find out if this is true and where the other unicorns are.  Along the way she meets a magician named Schmendrick who is not the best magician in the world, although he does possess true magic.  He decides to accompany the unicorn on her quest. They also pick up one other traveler on the way, a woman named Molly Grue. 

Eventually they end up at the castle of King Haggard and his son Prince Lir.  At this point, the unicorn is in human form (courtesy of Schmendrick) to prevent the Red Bull from discovering who she truly is.  Eventually they learn what happened to the unicorns and there is a final showdown.

I’m not going to go through the rest of the story because I don’t want to give away the surprises and the ending.  This is an absolutely beautiful animated movie; it was really my first exposure to Japanese style animation.  The characters are voiced wonderfully (Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin, Christopher Lee, Mia Farrow) and the band America performs the music. 

The Last Unicorn

As you can see, I had a hard time toning down the hyperbole in this post; I just love these movies to pieces.  If you haven’t seen any of them, I recommend putting them on your watch list as soon as possible.  You won’t be disappointed.

What about you, what are some of your favorite movies and TV shows?