I just recently learned of a super cool new celebration – Global Movie Day! Created by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts, aka the Oscars, just ONE year ago, it is to be celebrated on the second Saturday of February and intended to celebrate the power and impact that movies have had all over the world for over 100 years now.
I LOOOOOOOVE movies. I love great movies, good movies, bad movies, cheesy movies, predictable movies, animated movies, movies in other languages, movies in the theaters, movies from the comfort of my couch, movie snacks, I just love movies. I don’t find this surprising since I just love stories in general and even though my favorite way to enjoy a story is a book, movies come a very, very close second. I love movies on lazy days, rainy days, sick days. I just love movies and I love that we have this cool, official, dedicated day to movies.
Today I’m sharing my ten favorite movies of all time so you can enjoy them!
Howl’s Moving Castle – HBO Max
Based on the book by Diane Wynne Jones, the movie tells the story of young Sophie Hatter, a plan and often forgotten girl who gets a spell put on her, turning her into an old woman. She finds her way to a moving castle owned by the mysterious wizard, Howl, and becomes his cleaning lady, making friends with the young wizard apprentice, Markl, and the powerful fire demon, Calcifer.
This movie is easily my favorite movie of all time. I love the animation, I love the story, even though it differs from the book I also enjoyed, I love the English voice cast (Billy Crystal as Calcifer is LIFE) and I absolutely love the music. I’ve seen this movie too many times to count and it truly never gets old.
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back – disney+
The sequel to the first Star Wars movie, Empire Strikes Back picks up with our three heroes, fighting to take down the Evil Empire. Leia and Han end up in the clutches of Darth Vader after trying to escape Imperial ships above Hoth and Luke takes his Jedi training a step further on Dagobah with Jedi Master Yoda.
I know that this is so BASIC to be my favorite Star Wars movie but honestly, its the best one, hands down, no arguments. I love that the ending of this movie is perfect for a second installment, they LOST, how could they LOSE, but its just fantastic. I love Leia the best in this movie – I think its both Leia and Carrie at their best – AND it has my favorite Star Wars scene ever, depicted above.
The Apartment – free on pluto tv/rent on amazon prime
The Apartment tells the story of CC Baxter, a hard worker in an office building in New York City, who just wants to earn his promotion and lends out his apartment to his superiors so they have a place to take their mistresses. Everything is going well until Fran Kubelik, the elevator girl whom Baxter has a crush on, is found in his apartment after a date with one of his bosses.
There is so much that is kind of icky about the movie and hasn’t aged well, sure. The idea that Baxter is using his apartment as a way to move up the ladder in his company and that all these men are cheating on their wives is just horrible. But omg Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine are just phenomenal in it. It’s both hilarious and emotional and I just…I absolutely love this movie. The story between Baxter and Miss Kubelik is adorable and I love the ending, which, of course, I won’t give away but if you haven’t seen this movie, please do so now!
Gone with the Wind – HBO MAX
Based on the insanely popular book by Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara over the period of several years, from naïve but stubborn Southern belle to a ruthless business woman after the Civil War, vowing herself to never go hungry again. It also tells the story of her many relationships – her first marriage to Charles Hamilton, her second marriage to Frank Kennedy and her third marriage to the *sigh* Charleston rogue, Rhett Butler.
Guys, I know. I KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. This movie is problematic in so many ways and I super appreciate the message now added to the beginning of the movie when you watch it on HBO MAX. I think that you have to go into this movie KNOWING how problematic it is, knowing the things that are good about it and watch it with both of those in mind. On one hand, its a brilliant love story, the cinematography is gorgeous, the costumes, the acting, the MUSIC. On the other hand, this movie paints the South as a victim, which is super super NOT true. Either way, it has remained one of my favorite movies because I do feel that I can recognize all of the above. And I will forever have a crush on Clark Gable as Rhett Butler BECAUSE HOW COULD YOU NOT?!
Singin’ in the Rain – HBO MAX
Don is the greatest silent film star out there, churning out hits with his costar Lina. That is, until talkies come to play and everyone realizes just how bad Lina is once they hear her voice! They decide to make their newest movie a musical and in steps aspiring actress, Kathy, to record for Lina. Of course, hijinks ensue and musical numbers fill the screen.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t like that Gene Kelly was a snobby asshole to Debbie Reynolds because he didn’t think she was a good enough dancer – insert eye roll here – but I just adore Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor in their roles and there are so many just absolutely iconic songs in this movie, songs I’m sure you didn’t even know. This was actually one of the first movies that I showed my fiancé and he began a huge fan, instantly, because its just so good.
Titanic – STARZ
The Titanic is the ship of dreams, large and luxurious and faster than any ship before her. Rose is a frustrated first class passenger, tired of staying in the life that has been chosen for her, and she catches the attention of drifter, Jack, a third class passenger. A Romeo and Juliet tale told against the tragedy of the ship’s sinking.
Growing up, and even still now, I had this serious obsession with the Titanic, even before I saw this movie. It was this grand, romantic in a tragic way story and I just remember wanting to learn everything I could about it. I read all the books and magazines and I’ve watched a thousand documentaries about it and I read about passengers and the layout of the ship and all of that. I love this movie because, yes, the love story is fantastic and the film is so gorgeous and the MUSIC, but I also really enjoy it because I love the historical aspect of it. Some of it is wrong, sure, but a lot of the Titanic is guesswork and speculation and firsthand accounts that have been embellished or whatnot. I find it fascinating and I know James Cameron did as well because you can SEE it in the movie and so I just love love this movie. I do not get to watch it enough, its so long!
The Mummy – HBO MAX
When Evie’s brother, Jonathan, finds a map that could lead to the mythological city, Hamunaptra, the librarian sets off on an adventure to find it, accompanied by the dashing and sarcastic American, Rick. They find the Book of the Dead and Evie reads from it, releasing a mummy hell bent on regaining his body and sacrificing Evie to bring his long lost love back to him.
THIS MOVIE. It has action and adventure and romance and thrills and scary parts and its so funny and everyone in it is so pretty to look at it. This movie was probably my sexual awakening as a bisexual girl LOL. I loved that Evie is literally the hero of the story and her strengths are that she is so smart and so witty, she’s a librarian who loves to read and she’s kind of dorky and she’s a brunette LOL and I just fell in love with this movie growing up. I love also that it has a history element to with the Ancient Egyptians. Obviously, its embellished and fictionalized a lot but there’s still a lot of truth behind the fiction. I’ve watched this movie a million times over the last 20 years and it just never gets old.
The Nightmare Before Christmas – Disney+
Jack Skellington is the king of Halloween and Halloween Town but he wants more, he wants something different. When he discovers Christmas town, he thinks he’s found the perfect thing and he vows to take it over and do it better than they can!
I wouldn’t be a millennial emo kid if this wasn’t one of my favorite movies. Its short, its fun, its silly and the music – all hail, Danny Elfman – is just fantastic. This movie is so old by this point and yet I’m fascinated every single time at the amount of work that went into making this movie. Claymation is just…fascinating and I love watching behind the scenes of this movie just as much as the movie itself. It’s a perfect Halloween movie, its a perfect Christmas movie, its a perfect anytime movie. It’s kind of weird but the music is so great. I love Zero and Oogie Boogie the best and I love singing along every single time I watch it.
It’s A Wonderful Life – Free for Amazon Prime Members
George Bailey grew up with big dreams and big plans but stayed in his little town of Bedford Falls. The events of his life lead to him contemplating suicide until an angel comes down to keep him from doing so and shows him what life would be like without him in it.
When I first started dating my fiancé, right around Christmas, he told me he had never seen this movie and when I asked his mom, she said it was too depressing and I was aghast. It’s NOT depressing, its hopeful! It’s beautiful and hopeful and full of love and kindness and sacrifice and I only watch it on Christmas, because it is a Christmas movie, because I like to keep the specialness of it to only one day a year. I love that it shows a simple life but a big and wonderful one despite that. George has all these big dreams and he wants to leave and travel and do grand things but you learn he’s done such grand things in his small town and that he means so much to so many people and agh, the tears are threatening to come, because its just so beautiful!
Tangled – Disney+
Rapunzel is a princess, stolen away from her parents because of her hair’s magical powers to keep someone young. She’s spent her life with her kidnapper/mother, Mother Gothel, and dreams of visiting the kingdom to see the floating lights that she sees on her birthday each year. She tasks thief, Flynn Rider, to take her there and romance and hilarity ensue and eventually it leads to the discovery of her true identity.
For a long time, Beauty and the Beast was my favorite
