At the Movies

I love movies of all kinds from musicals to drama to science fiction to comedy. Some movies I will watch over and over again. There is something special about them that makes me want to see them more then once.

One of my favorite movies is Casablanca. It is such a beautiful love story. I'll only watch the black and white version because the colorized just doesn't look right. There are so many great performances to watch. Much of the same cast was in The Maltese Falcon another great classic.

A couple of films that I found very powerful were Z and Schindler's List. Z was the story of a political assassination and the late Yves Montand gave an extraordinary performance. Schindler's List had an equally brilliant performance by Liam Neeson, one of my favorite actors. The scene where he was agonizing over whether he could have saved more people brings tears to my eyes. The ending of the movie where you see the actual descendents of the people Schindler saved really brings home the movie. It is so beautiful.

I am a huge fan of Kenneth Branagh, especially his Shakespeare films. The masterful delivery of the "once more into the breech" speech in Henry V stays with you. He has a scene near the end of the film where they are walking through the battlefield that is riveting. There is no dialog and none is needed. The visuals say it all. I remember being absolutely stunned by the time Hamlet ended. It is rare to see the entire play done but this version is one of the best ever. There wasn't a single performance that wasn't top rate. Shakespeare at his best.

It isn't surprising that science fiction and fantasy films are high on my list. The scene is 2001: A Space Odyssey where the ape has discovered how to use tools and is using a bone as a hammer and lets it fly into the air where it transforms into a space ship is awesome. It is one of those scenes where you can replay it in your mind. When I first saw Star Wars with the opening shots where you see the small ship fly by and then this monster of a ship filled the scene I knew I was going to be in for the ride of my life. In ET at the end of the movie when his finger glows and he points to Elliot’s head and says "I'll be right here" I found myself wiping away tears. It was so poignant.

My favorite film however has to be Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have watched all nine plus  hours over and over again. Everything about the movies worked for me. It was so superbly cast that I can't even imagine any other actors in the parts. Visually it is one of the most stunning movies ever made and I would love to go down to New Zealand and see that country for myself now.

Ah yes the movies I just love them. The picture is called The Gate and is based on another geek favorite movie called Stargate.

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