my top 20 all time fave movies

i've always loved watching movies, i grew up around the betamax, vhs, vcd and dvd stuff, and of course the theater experience. I love watching films ever since i was a kid and probably due to the fact that my dad is a great influence (he's a movie addict too), the more passionate the movie is done, the more it stays recorded in my brain forever. All movies ranging from the heartbreaking theme to the sci-fi stuff..sometimes its about the actors but mostly its about the stories that makes me cry (yeah i do have a soft heart), that makes me think and sometimes changes my point of view about things.

Here are my 20 favorite movies, in no particular order:

1. EUROTRIP - well this movie did make me laugh because I am a fan of roadtrip movies, i've always found this one interesting because it features europe and its famous places. It talks about a guy who makes the wrong move with a girl and now finds himself running all over the european areas just to see the german girl that he loves. Four friends embark on a funny and hilarious journey, unfortunately, here in the movie the americans may have made a mistake on showing the italian concept of being gay and polygamous..hmmm..anyway, i enjoyed this movie a lot.

2. NOTTING HILL - call me cheap slob because i love this movie, but hey I am a self-confessed julia roberts fan, and she just acts so naturally, naturally funny and very attractive. Of course, i love this movie because i admire the "thick" accents all over the place. The funny acts and humor around, and the idea that a famous actress falls in love with a simple guy always is a romantic topic. I like this movie because, i love the scene where Julia says (and i don't care if this has been copied or commercially famous but i still like it) that she's just a girl standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her..its just so hopelessly sweet. I wouldn't forget a line where she says "some people do spend their lives together forever", meaning some fairy tales do come true...somehow.


3. Passion of the Christ - This movie is all that and I mean really special. First, i did not expect this from Mel Gibson who directed the movie and the perfect way that it should be done. JIm Caviezel is just so amazing, and every actor in this movie who has spoken in aramaic and done it so passionately. One can feel how every inch was shot with care and every scene was greatly done. I felt in touch with real feeling that it sent and I respected my faith more than ever.


4. The JOy Luck Club - I would always, and always love this movie. A chinese movie about four or five women, i couldn't quite remember, but it revolved around their own families, their legacies, relationships and their love for each other as friends. I'll never get tired watching this one. Every story has its own lesson and the important thing is about respect, dignity and family.


5. The killing fields - I was probably 9 or 10, when i watched this movie, and all throughout my life i have never forgotten Haing S. Ngor (i've never forgotten his name all throughout), the thing is it was part of his own story actually. Its about a british journalist and his friends who all got caught with the Khmer Rouge regime and the movie shows how they survived and who of them lived. It was my first movie about the cruelty of government and the innocent people that have been involved, ever since i have been a fan of these kind of movies, movies that only make u cry but make u aware as well.

6. The Ring - i'm a sucker for horror movies, but this particular japanese horror film is the scariest one perhaps. I've watched both the japanese version (all three parts ) and the american version (mildly scary). The original japanese version is the majorly scary and really crazy. Its about a video, which has a scary curse on it that whoever watches it dies, and the video apparaently has a mystifying story about a strange family.


7. Empire of the Sun - I must have watched this almost a hundred times and still i would always love the part where the child sings the japanese song or anthem (have trouble remembering), at the kamikaze ritual, where the son of the japanese captain is apparently going on a suicide mission, and the japanese army looks on, quite touched. It talks about the american captured in the japanese regime and are treated like prisoners, it talks about a young boy's survival in midst of war and how the environment affects him and changes him. I love this movie because it talks about the early independence and how young people struggle to live and their hopes and views on life itself.

8. Cold Mountain - This is movie about true love. Simple but true. A journey of man who is only holding on for that one thing and in the end it doesnt end well, and a woman who kept holding on and waiting for a man whom she hasn't even completely loved and but she feels confident and hopes for his return. Its a good a movie about waiting for somebody, that when the perfect time comes for both people to fall in love, how worthy are the chances, because in the reality sometimes fate changes it course..sometimes one begins to see that unconditional love means literally, loving with all the risk and with all the chances..not knowing if its worth all the pain.


9. BEFORE SUNSET - I know missed the first part "before sunrise", but i dont care, i liked it even without the first part. I enjoyed the simplicity of the movie, the conversations between the actors was fun, and it was done in a very natural way just the way how two people separated by time and place met again after nine years. This is one of the conversations where julie delpy and ethan hawke were talking inside the car ..the part where she cries..

and she says"I'm so miserable in my love life,
in my relationship, I always act as...
you know, I'm detached,
but I'm...
I'm dying because I'm so numb,
I don't feel pain, or excitement...
I'm not even bitter, I'm just...
You know, that I can't keep living like this, that
there's gotta be something more to love
than commitment...
But then I think that...
I might have given up...
on the whole idea of romantic love.
That I...
I might have put it to bed, ..
that day when you weren't there. "

The movie made me think about relationships and that sometimes some people are not meant to be and things happen. There are reasons we cannot accept and sometimes, it happens over and over again.


10. MY SASSY GIRL - This korean movie is a "date movie". I love it because its fun and korean love comedy movies do have depths and love is shown in more symbolisms and deep expressions. Its about a girl who always gets drunk and acts like a bully but eventually they fall in love, but there are reasons behind their own pasts that makes them think twice about their feelings. Its not a typical love story but it does reflect reality. I love the idea of dating and as well as having fun with somebody u love.


11. BOYS DON'T CRY - my best drama movie about homosexuals and interestingly, Hilary Swank acts the "guy" part so excellent. She does deserve the oscar for this. I can't even believe the scenes she went through. I think so far she is the actress who did a lesbian part, so perfectly done.


12. THE NOTEBOOK - This is an excerpt of the last letter that Noah gave Allie in this movie. THis is by far the sweetest love story and not all too mushy, second to gone with the wind..for me.

My dearest Allie,

I couldn't sleep last night because
I know that it's over between us.

I'm not bitter anymore, because I know
that what we had was real.

And if in some distant
place in the future

we see each other
in our new lives,

I'll smile
at you with joy

and remember how
we spent a summer beneath the trees

learning from each other
and growing in love.


The best love
is the kind that awakens the soul

and makes us
reach for more,

that plants a fire
in our hearts

and brings peace
to our minds.


And that's what you've
given me.


That's what I'd hoped
to give to you forever.


I love you.
I'll be seeing you, Noah.



13. SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE - I have watched this movie over a hundred times too, and I could never forget it, i have already memorized the scenes, the theme songs and everything. Up to now, I still remember how Meg Ryan describes when u meet somebody u really want, "its like..magic."


14. SCHINDLER'S LIST - I am a fan of holocaust films and i just couldn't believe what the jewish people went through at those times. It is still an aghast depiction on how cruelty was bestowed upon most jews, especially the women. It is hard to imagine that at those moments, one would rather die than survive the horrific experience. I feel for this movie and for all the holocaust films that i have watched.


15. BEAUTIFUL BOXER - This is an amazing story of thailand boxer who was actually gay, but eventually he turned out to be a really skilled boxer. He fights for his own identity in order to gain respect for his own sexuality and i think it is a great thing. Thailand culture is so much like our's here in the philippines.

16. SOMETIMES IN APRIL - This movie is about the genocide that happened in Africa (i forgot the year) but of course it happened in april. It is about a man who loses everything, his wife, and his boys. And the most crucial part is that his family was killed all because of a stupid rebellion which lead into killing of hundreds of innocent people, which also involved his brother. I can feel the intensity of emotions of this film, i cannot see myself forgiving the people who killed my family and without me knowing what happened to them, and in the end, the characters begins to hear all the true revelations about what happened to his wife. I couldn't stop crying until the end.


17. HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT - The story revolves around women, how they struggle to their own lives, family and deal with their heartaches. I remember asking a question to most of my friends back in highschool, "who would u marry ur lover, ur friend or ur soulmate?" . I like the variation of their stories.

18. WITHOUT A PADDLE - I agree that this is the movie for guys and all friends who have beeen together for all the years, the perfect roadtrip adventure. I mean if i would be left alone in a huge forest and dark woods, i'd rather have my close pals with me, my adventures in this life would never be the same without them.

19.THE COLOR PURPLE - This is by far the most touching movie about women. How women are depicted as strong and capable of loving even in the most tough state. How women should be loved and be respected in all means. I love whoopi goldberg's character, the strength that she had to face everything and how she has learned to forgive her lying cheating husband.


20. EVER AFTER - I am a fan of drew barrymore, ive watched all of her movies. I think she's a talented and stunning actress and i love this movie because i love fairytales and because this is a modern day story about cinderlla and the fact that it shows that sometimes, we as women are not always to be the one rescued or in distress..sometimes we even become the rescuer and show that we can protect ourselves.

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and the list goes on and on.. I still have other fave movies, like Adam Sandler movies, "beetle juice" (which i remember my dad likes to watch)spanish movies, and of course some local movies here in the philippines, some japanese and chinese movies..maybe i'll make another list sometime.