10 Movies I absolutely love and think you will too!

If there’s one thing I love to talk to people about, it’s my favourite movies! Revealing your favourite flicks is both exciting and terrifying because you’re opening yourself up to come across, potentially, as a real weirdo. I love hearing people’s favourite movies because you can often scoop up a great tip on a movie you end up loving. Besides, watching movies appeals to all my strengths: laying in one place for long periods, staring vacantly at the television and eating. Bliss. So, here are 10 of my all-time favourite movies. What are yours? These are in no particular order, just the order I remembered them.

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1. Lost in Translation

It’s almost impossible to describe what’s so good about Lost in Translation. It just makes me feel some type of way! It makes me laugh, and feel a little exposed, as though they’re sharing my inner thoughts. It makes me feel inspired to live my life and have more wild adventures, it also makes me self-analyse a little too. It’s just… perfection. Going to Tokyo was made all the sweeter having seen this movie. If you haven’t seen it before, do yourself a favour and watch it, pronto!

2. The Skeleton Twins

I love this movie! The sad thing is most people haven’t heard of it before, which is sad because it’s awesome. I stumbled across it by accident one night. I was up late, unable to sleep on account of being in another hotel room. I was in Singapore and I’d hit the free cocktail hour a little too hard, drinking one too many Old Fashioned’s, so I’m in bed in a robe, a bit buzzed, and I watch this movie and it’s just amazing. It’s so funny and a bit dark but also really… just… real. It was so sad and raw but also really funny. I tell everyone I meet about it and force them to watch it. You gotta be in the right frame of mind to watch it, but it’s really good.

3. The Big Lebowski

If I could be any character from a movie in real life, it’d be The Dude. This whole movie is hilarious from start to finish, it’s weird and awkward and incredibly quotable. It’s one of those movies that makes you really fall in love with the characters. I love Jeff Bridges in it, he really is the Dude. His whole laid-back approach to life, wearing what he wants, doing what he wants and just being himself all the time is kind of contagious. If you’ve never seen it, make sure you do!

4. Life of Pi

Somehow I scored a couple of free tickets to Life of Pi and took one of my besties along with me. We went in totally unsure what to expect as neither of us had read the book. The next few hours went by in a blur of wonder, ending with us both sitting in my car in a near-empty parking lot. We sat in silence at first, processing then began this lengthy discussion about it. It was amazing. I went to see it again the next day. This movie is exceptionally beautiful and so deep and thoughtful, every time I see it I love it more and feel something new.

5. Fight Club

I’m not usually the type of person to re-watch movies, but Fight Club is an exception to that rule. I remember the first time I watched it, it blew my mind. The second time, many years later, I really connected with it and Edward Norton’s famous words around the lives we create for ourselves. His Ikea breakdown is iconic! This line, in particular, is something I think about at least once a week: “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” What the actual heck…. that hits me right in the feelings.

6. White Chicks

There isn’t a time I don’t watch White Chicks and nearly throw up from laughing so hard. It’s the perfect movie and, in my opinion, should’ve won an Oscar. I’ve seen it so many times and each time I watch it, it takes me back about 12 years ago, watching it with friends while eating way too much junk food and killing ourselves laughing. I once changed my Facebook profile picture to a photo of one of the ‘white chicks’ and my mum commented that it really did look like me. Despite that sick burn from my mum, I still love this movie like crazy. Classic.

7. Snowpiercer

This movie messed me up. I watched it one day by total accident and, when it started, I hated it. At first, I found Chris Evans a little off-putting, cos he’s got that whole blonde, blue-eyed, pretty guy thing going on. Then the movie really got down to business and things got really strange and I was like ??? WTF is this even about?! And then some stuff goes down that’s incredibly violent and intense and Chris Evans delivers this monolog, right, and it’s epic. It totally changed my view of him. The movie reaches its conclusion and it just…. it makes you think, man. It really makes you think. I’ve only ever watched it once but it’s a movie I think about all the time.

8. Secret Life of Walter Mitty

I recently re-watched this with Matt and my bestie, Mindy, and I fell in love with it even more! It’s just SO good. For me, it perfectly captures that feeling of not having the courage to do what you want to do. It has an incredible way of connecting with that inner feeling of not being worthy of going after the things you want and how it feels when you finally do and you find freedom. Not only that, it’s beautifully shot and takes you to some of my favourite places in the world (Iceland, anyone!?) It’s funny, sweet, inspiring and really weird at times, which are all part of what make it so good.

9. Sleepless in Seattle

Alright, alright, I know… lame! But there’s just something about this movie and the Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks combo that gets me. That scene when Meg Ryan is driving along in the car, listening to the radio, crying. I feel like every woman has done that at some point. I’m not usually a big fan of romance movies but Sleepless in Seattle is a classic, it just gets me right in the emotions every time.

10. Things To Do in Denver When You’re Dead

For me, this movie is so good because it’s so quotable. There are so many iconic mannerisms and words spoken that are just so cool you want to quote or copy them ALL THE TIME #BoatDrinks. Andy Garcia makes you want to be part of his gang of ex-mobsters getting back in the game for one last job but, inevitably, making a hot mess of things. The whole thing is just… cool. It’s a movie I first watched with Matt somewhere between leaving Brisbane and moving to London and it was one of the first movies he’d ever shown me that I genuinely loved. It’s weird and sad and funny and all kinds of wonderful.

Honourable Mentions…

The movies I really like but just don’t quite have what it takes to weasel into the all-time favourites list.

• Under The Tuscan Sun. Holy heck, this movie makes me want to move to Italy every damn time.
• The Beach is one of those movies you never, ever forget.
• Ferris Bueller’s Day off. It’s always good. Always! Each time I watch it I connect with it differently.
• The Breakfast Club. Classic, just classic.
• The Best Exotic Marigold. It makes you feel sad and then overjoyously happy.
• Dirty Dancing. I hated it. I hated it and hated it and then… I turned 25 and I freaking loved it.
• Into the Wild. I hated it the first time I saw it but loved it the second time (the soundtrack alone is insane!)

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