Movie project

Recently I've been looking for a list of romantic movies that I can use for my own list of romantic movies. Most of the lists I've found on the web were those of other movie buffs, and unfortunatley, a lot of them contain a narrow scope of the greatest movies out there. So, I came accross the American Film Institute's (AFI's) website, and--badabing!--they have their own list. It's like finding my very own Rosetta stone!

Of course, there are some movies that ranked high on this list that I didn't really like. #3 "West Side Story" bored me to death. #21 "Pretty Woman" feels stale and #29 "An Officer and a Gentleman" is just plain unromantic. So my list will definitely be different from this. I'll just use this as a guide. Also, I'm waiting for some asian movies to be delivered (one of them of Korean origin as one of you guys out there has suggested I take a look at).

So, this project will take months, and I'm excited as to how the list will look like. Perhaps, I can do a movie review every now and then on some notable movies I've watched.

Long Way Round

Last night, I saw a mini-series, entitled "Long Way Round" about two guys (one of them was Ewan McGregor) who are trying to travel 20,000 miles, around the world in two motorcycles. They start from London, then go east, to Europe, to Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, then cross the Pacific through Alaska, then Canada, and finally to New York.

As I was watching them, I could sense the freedom of traveling. For hours, they would just travel, and follow the road, not worrying where it will take them and when. They just... went. As the surroundings that they are passing through change, so does the culture and the people they meet. There's a sense of discovery into each town or city they stop by to rest or replenish their supplies.

The sights they saw were just breathtaking. It made me appreciate that, despite all the bad things that are happening in the world right now, the world is a very beautiful place.

I would like to do something similar. I would like to travel, and see the world on my own...

Honesty to myself

Recently, I have not been very honest with myself. In fact, I have been downright deceitful towards myself. How? Let me ask you this: Would you pick up a dead animal, hoping it would come alive and live with you as a pet? Well, I've been doing something like that for a few weeks now. I wished that that dead animal become alive, and I've actually been wasting a lot of my time and energy staring at it, hoping for a miracle. I kept on thinking that somehow, if I stare at it long enough, it will become awaken from it's sleep and so I can bring home to be my pet.

Casablanca

I watched this movie classic last Monday, and I still can't get it off my mind. It is truly one of the best movies of all time. You can easily emphatize with the characters and their stories, and why they need to do what they're trying to do. The dynamics between the two main characters, Rick and the chief of police, is amazing. You don't know if they're friends or enemies trying to outsmart each other.

The ending is also one of the best endings I've seen in a movie in quite a while. There was something for everyone at the end. And it was not a cheesy ending, at that.

When people say that Casablanca is one of the best romantic movies of all time, if not the best, I won't be arguing with them.

Quote for the week

It's monday, and the start of a brand new week. What's better to start a new week than to have a nice new quote to guide us by:

"I pray to God to spare me from the desire for love, acceptance and
appreciation from others. Amen."

Best romantic movies of all time

I'm compiling a list of best romantic movies of all time. So far, these are the movies that I have in contention. If anyone has any suggestions, please add them at the comments link below this post. I haven't watched all of these, and so I'm planning to do so in the next few weeks. I'll judge these movies on:

(1) Realism. Cheesy movies that don't make sense will receive a poor grade on this. What I mean by that is that the emotions and choices of the characters are within realistic boundaries. Examples of realistic romantic movies are: Bridges of Madison County; not examples of realistic romantic movies are: 13 going on 30.

(2) Overall effect. How much did these movies made you fall in love or want to fall in love or believe in true love. So, it's the effect. =) Examples of movies that were really struck you are: Sleepless in Seattle, Jerry Maguire.

So, without further ado, here's the list of movies in contention:

Sleepless in Seattle (Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan)

While you were sleeping (Bill Pullman and Sandra Bullock)

The American President (Michael Douglas and Anette Benning)

When Harry Met Sally (Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan)

Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise)

Titanic (Leonardo Di Caprio)

Ever After (Drew Barrymore)

English Patient (Kristin Scott Thomas)

Breakfast at Tiffany's (Audrey Hepburn)

Annie Hall (Woody Allen)

Casablanca (Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman)

One Fine Day (George Clooney)

Say Anything... (John Cusack)

Life as a House (Kevin Kline)

The Notebook (?)

The best movie of all time for me.

I'm writing about this, because I just heard the soundtrack of this movie once again. The best movie, and will probably never change, is none other than Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun". It's a moving story about a British boy who got separated from his parents and is left to fend for himself in a Japanese concentration camp. He grew up along the way, from a spoiled British kid to a brave young adult.

The child actor who played the British kid in this movie is the now famous actor Christian Bale ("American Psycho:, villain in "Shaft", and star of the upcoming Batman film "Batman Begins"). As I was browsing the Internet for information in this movie, I was surprised to find out that Ben Stiller was in this movie as well. Yes, that Ben Stiller of "Dodgeball" and "Meet the Parents" fame.

Rounding off the top 3 are "Love Actually" and "Matrix". They are far, but respectable 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

Honorable mentions are:
- Shawshank Redemption
- Braveheart
- LOTR Return of the King
- Chasing Amy
- A Few Good Men

Absent a little too long

I've had a lot of things happen to me since the last time I wrote here. I just haven't found the time to do it. Next time, I'll try to write down my experience right after it happened.

Lately, I've been sleeping on the couch instead of on the bed. I don't know why, but I seem to enjoy sleeping on the couch. Perhaps because of the TV. But I doubt it, because I enjoy my couch regardless of whether I'm watching TV or not. Even when I was back in the Philippines, I do enjoy sleeping on the couch. The only problem was that we had an expensive couch, and my Mom would not fail to remind me that I'm ruining it.