Monday, November 2, 2015

My Top 25 Favourite Films

I'm participating in Stephen T. McCarthy's 25 Favourite Movie project.
I came to find this was not as easy a task as one might think. First of all, I don't go see films often. Not even when it's a film that interests me. As a result, I had a difficult time thinking of what films I thought were best. In the end, I looked into my DVD cabinet and discovered I own almost 50 films. Well, if I own it, I must like it. So I've gone over what I own, and tried to determine which I felt were my favourites. I have also tried to include a few from the various genres in the cabinet. i.e.; Superhero, Adventure, Western, Sci.Fi., Comedy, Oldie, Disaster or a few others types. I realized I seem to lean more towards sci.fi., campy or goofy comedies. What do you think of the list? Have you seen any on my list? Which ones do you like?
More importantly, I'm wondering which on the list is no surprise to you. And which are surprising to find in my list.



My Top 10 Favourite Films

1. Scavenger Hunt (1979)
Starring: Richard Benjamin, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Cloris Leachman, Cleavon Little, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley, Richard Mulligan, Tony Randall, Dirk Benadict, Willie Aames, Stephanie Faracy, Maureen Teefy, Richard Masur
Featuring: Ruth Gordon, Stephen Furst, Vincent Price, Meat Loaf, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Liz Torres, Avery Schreiber
Plot: To inherit a fortune, various addressees of a will must compete in a wild scavenger hunt to collect selected items, but cannot be simply bought.
Quotes
Charles Bernstein: I'm Charles Bernstein. Attorney for the late Milton Parker.
Marvin Dummitz: You mean someone else is late now?

Babbette: Montclair! Montclair! They have killed Montclair!
Jenkins: There, there, Babbette, we will get you another toilet.



2. Back to the Future (1985, 1989, 1990)
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson, Lea Tompson, Crispin Glover
Plot: A young man is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time travelling DeLorean invented by his friend, Dr. Emmett Brown, and must make sure his high-school-age parents unite in order to save his own existence.
Quotes
Marty McFly: So you're my Uncle Joey. Better get used to these bars, kid.

Stella Baines: He's a very strange young man.
Sam Baines: He's an idiot. Comes from upbringing. His parents are probably idiots, too. Lorraine, you ever have a kid who acts that way, I'll disown you.

Marty McFly: Silence, Earthling. My name is Darth Vader. I am an extraterrestrial from the planet Vulcan!



3. Groundhog Day (1993)
Starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott
Plot: A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.
Quotes
Phil: Come on, ALL the long distance lines are down? What about the satellite? Is it snowing in space? Don't you have some kind of a line that you keep open for emergencies or for celebrities? I'm both. I'm a celebrity in an emergency.

Phil: Uh, Mrs. Lancaster, uh, was anybody looking for me here this morning? Perhaps a state official? Maybe a blue hat, gun, nightstick?
Mrs. Lancaster: Oh, no, no one like that. Will there be?
Phil: Apparently not.



4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
Plot: King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search for the Grail, encountering many very silly obstacles.
Quotes
Sir Bedevere: What makes you think she's a witch?
Peasant: Well, she turned me into a newt!
Sir Bedevere: A newt?
Peasant 3: ... I got better.

King Arthur: I am your king.
Woman: Well, I didn't vote for you.

King of Swamp Castle: Please! This is supposed to be a happy occasion. Let's not bicker and argue over who killed who.



5. Stalag 17 (1953)
Starring: William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Richard Erdman, Peter Graves
Plot: When two escaping American World War II prisoners are killed, the German POW camp barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
Quotes
Triz Trzcinski: I believe it. My wife says, "Darling, you won't believe it, but I found the most adorable baby on our doorstep and I've decided to keep it for our very own. Now you won't believe it, but it's got exactly my eyes and nose." Why does she keep saying I won't believe it? I believe it! I believe it.

Sefton: If I ever run into any of you bums on a street corner, just let's pretend we've never met before.



6. Star Wars (1977, 1980, 1983, 1999, 2002, 2005)
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Billy D Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Alec Guinness & Liam Neesan, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Hayden Christiensen, James Earl Jones (as the voice of Darth Vader)
Plot: Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a wookiee and two droids to save the universe from the Empire's world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader.
Quotes
Princess Leia: Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf herder.
Han Solo: Who's scruffy-looking?

Anakin Skywalker: I sense Count Dooku.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: I sense a trap.

Admiral Ackbar: It's a trap!



7. A Knight's Tale (2001)
Starring: Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany, Laura Fraser, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk
Plot: After his master dies, a peasant squire, fuelled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight.
Quotes
Wat: I don't understand women.
Chaucer: Nor do I. But they understand us. Well, maybe not you.

Jocelyn: I demand poetry, and when I want it, and I want it now.
William: Your breasts... they're beneath your throat.

Roland: Are you a woman or a blacksmith?
Kate: Sometimes I'm both.



8. Dream Team (1989)
Starring: Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle, Stephen Furst, Lorraine Bracco
Plot: On the way to a baseball game, sanitarium patients get stranded in New York City after their chaperone is hospitalized and they're being pursued by criminals.
Quotes
Jack: Great! Breakfast. I'm starved.
Henry: That's not ours. That's Ed's.
Jack: Did Ed make the sun shine? Did Ed make the wheat grow?
Henry: I don't know the man.

Billy: Ah, it's great to be young and insane!

Henry: This is Brian's cupcake. Every day an innocent man is deprived of his dessert while we sit here and do nothing.



9. Time Machine (1960)
Starring: Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux
Plot: A man's vision for an utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society.
Quotes
George: What have you done? Thousands of years of building and rebuilding, creating and recreating so you can let it crumble to dust. A million years of sensitive men dying for their dreams... FOR WHAT? So you can swim and dance and play.

Filby: If that machine can do what you say it can do, destroy it, George! Destroy it before it destroys you!



10. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Starring: Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Efron Ramirez, Tina Majorino
Plot: A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.
Quotes
Napoleon Dynamite: Who are you gonna ask?
Pedro: That girl over there.
Napoleon Dynamite: Summer Wheatly? How the heck are you gonna do that?
Pedro: Build her a cake or something.

Napoleon Dynamite: It's a piece of crap it doesn't work!
Uncle Rico: Well, I could've told you that.



The other 15 top movies I like.

11. Rat Race (2001)
Starring: Beckin Meyer, Cuba Gooding Jr., Seth Green, Vince Vieluf, Whoopi Goldberg, Lanei Chapman, Jon Lovitz, Kathy Najimy,John Cleese, Dave Thomas, Amy Smart, Rowan Atkinson
Featuring: Gloria Alred, Paul Rodriguez, Wyane Knight, Dean Cain, Brandy Leford
Plot: An eccentric Las Vegas casino magnate, determined to find a new avenue for wagering, sets up a race for money.
Quotes
Enrico Pollini: Am I too late ? Look I won a coin, a gold coin! Oh, isn't this wonderful? Look at this room, what a beautiful room, have you seen this room?
Randy Pear: Yes! We're in it!

Merrill: I think this is some kind of scam!
Vera Baker: Oh good, a scam! We'll do it!



12. Aliens (1986)
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein
Plot: The planet from Alien (1979) has been colonized, but contact is lost. This time, the rescue team has impressive firepower, but will it be enough?
Quotes
Hudson: Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?
Vasquez: No. Have you?

Ripley:These people are here to protect you. They're soldiers.
Newt:It won't make any difference.

Hudson: That's it, man. Game over, man. Game over!



13. Princess Bride (1987)
Starring: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, Christopher Guest, Andre the Giant, Robin Wright
Featuring: Peter Falk, Fred Savage, Carol Kane, Billy Crystal, Mel Smith
Plot: While home sick in bed, a young boy's grandfather reads him a story called The Princess Bride.
Quotes
Inigo Montoya: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

Prince Humperdinck: Surrender.
Westley: You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept.



14. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Hal Landon Jr.
Plot: Two seemingly dumb teens struggle to prepare a historical presentation with the help of a time machine.
Quotes
Ted: Okay, the lady in that car over there said that Marco Polo was in the year 1275.
Bill: It's not just a water sport, I knew it!

Ted: Uh, Ms. Preston. We'd like you to meet some of our... friends.
Bill: Yeah. This is Dave Beeth-Oven. And, uh, Maxine of Arc, Missy. Herman the Kid.
Ted: Bob "Genghis" Khan. So-cratz Johnson. Dennis Frood. And, uh, uh... Abraham Lincoln.



15. Unbreakable (2000)
Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson
Plot: A man learns something extraordinary about himself after a devastating accident.
Quotes
Elijah Price: Do you know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world, to not know why you're here. That's - that's just an awful feeling.

David Dunn: Friends listen to each other! And they don't shoot each other, do they Audrey?
Audrey Dunn: N-... No shooting friends, Joseph...



16. American Graffiti (1973)
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips
Featuring: Wolfman Jack, Harrison Ford, Suzanne Summers
Plot: A couple of high school grads spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.
Quotes
Carol: Your car is uglier than I am! Uh... that didn't come out right.

Terry Fields: Let me have a Three Musketeers, and a ball point pen, and one of those combs there, a pint of Old Harper, a couple of flash light batteries and some beef jerky.



17. Three Amigos (1986)
Starring: Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Patrice Martinez
Plot: Three unemployed actors accept an invitation to a Mexican village to replay their bandit fighter roles, unaware that it is the real thing.
Quotes
Juanita: Which one do you like?
Carmen: I like the one that's not so smart.
Juanita: Which one is that?

El Guapo: Are gringos falling from the sky?
Jefe: Yes, El Guapo.



18. Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Starring: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall, Stella Stevens, Shelley Winters
Plot: A group of passengers struggle to survive and escape when their ocean liner completely capsizes at sea.
Quotes
Linda Rogo: What happened?
Reverend Frank Scott: We've turned over.

Robin Shelby: I'm sorry Mrs. Rosen, I didn't mean it to sound like that.
Mrs. Belle Rosen: What, I miss something?
Robin Shelby: When I said I helped my dad pull in a 600 pound swordfish. I didn't mean that I thought you weighed that much.
Mrs. Belle Rosen: All that's going on and THAT'S what you're worried about?



19. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee van Cleef
Plot: A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
Quotes
Blondie: You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.

Tuco: Don't die, I'll get you water. Stay there. Don't move, I'll get you water. Don't die until later.

Blondie: It's not a joke, it's a rope, Tuco. Now I want you to get up there and put your head in that noose.



20. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (1982)
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban, Deforest Kelley
Plot: With the assistance of the Enterprise crew, Admiral Kirk must stop an old nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, from using a life-generating device, the Genesis Device, as the ultimate weapon.
Quotes
Khan: I've done far worse than kill you. I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left her; marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet... buried alive! Buried alive...!
Kirk: KHAAANNNN!

McCoy: Where are we going?
Kirk: Where they went.
McCoy: Suppose they went *nowhere*?
Kirk: Then this will be your big chance to get away from it all.



21. Jurassic Park (1993)
Starring: Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldbloom, Richard Attenborough, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight
Plot: During a preview tour, a theme park suffers a major power breakdown that allows its cloned dinosaur exhibits to run amok.
Quotes
John Hammond: All major theme parks have delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but, John, if The Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists.

Dennis Nedry: Dodgson!
Lew Dodgson: You shouldn't use my name.
Dennis Nedry: Dodgson! Dodgson! We've got Dodgson here! Nobody cares. Nice hat. What are you trying to look like, a secret agent?



22. Mars Attacks (1996)
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnon, Danny Devito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Lisa Marie
Plot: Earth is invaded by Martians with unbeatable weapons and a cruel sense of humor.
Quotes
President Dale: I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of 3 branches of the government working for them, and that ain't bad.

Martian Translator Device: We come in peace! We come in peace!



23. Cannonball Run (1981)
Starring: Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Faucet, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Elam, Terry Bradshaw, Adrienne Barbeau, Jackie Chan, Bert Convy, Jamie Farr
Plot: A wide variety of eccentric competitors participate in a wild and illegal cross-country road race. However, the eccentric entrants will do anything to win the road race, including low-down, dirty tricks.
Quotes
J.J. McClure: I'm sure that doctor's a very sweet man, basically.
Victor Prinsi: Oh, thank you.
J.J. McClure: But don't you ever tell me where you found him. Ever.

J.J. McClure: Excuse me. Excuse me. Hey, Mad Dog!
Mad Dog: Hey, J.J!
J.J. McClure: Look, you probably didn't realize this, but the parking lot's outside.



24. Flash Gordon (1980)
Starring: Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed
Plot: A football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.
Quotes
Prince Vultan: GORDON'S ALIVE!

Princess Aura: Look! Water is leaking from her eyes.
The Emperor Ming: It's what they call tears, it's a sign of their weakness.

Princess Aura: But my father has never kept a vow in his life!
Dale Arden: I can't help that, Aura. Keeping our word is one of the things that make us... better than you.



25. Superman II (1980)
Starring: Christopher Reeve, Margo Kiddder, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Jack O'Halloran
Plot: Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth with the help of Lex Luthor.
Quote
General Zod: We have no more use for this one. Kill him.
Lex Luthor: Me? Lex Luthor? General, you came to me with nothing. I gave you Superman!

Clark Kent: General, would you care to step outside?
General Zod: Come to me, son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod!

19 comments:

  1. Monty Python! You rock.
    Aliens is still the best movie of that franchise and tops my list of favorite movies.
    Did you ever see the remake of the Poseidon Adventure? Don't.

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    1. It's very possible I did see it. But not really remembering it says a lot.
      See? I do watch movies from time to time.

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  2. I've seen a good many of these. Some I've meant to see and just haven't... yet. My brother really likes Mars Attacks. I don't think I included Groundhog Day, but it may have gotten an Honorable Mention. I also liked Unbreakable a lot. The Wrath of Khan is my favorite of the "old" Star Trek movies. Interesting that you chose Superman II out of that trilogy. I remember the first one really well because we had HBO at that time and it played a lot. The others are more fuzzy for me. But, I remember liking all of them.

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    1. It was kind of a toss-up with the Superman films. I didn't want to use all of them because none of the remakes seemed as enjoyable (or I never felt as fond for them). I liked the concept of the Superman II. The first was good, but the whole spinning time back is where I lost interest. Of course the whole "shield" weapon Superman used was dumb too. As for Star Trek, I also loved IV and the Next Generation: First Contact. But I tried to limit myself to one of each movie.

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  3. I haven't seen a lot of these, but none of them surprised me. I was happy to see the original Jurassic Park movie. I can watch that one several days in a row. It never gets old.

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    1. Nothing I love more than rampaging dinosaurs. Have you seen the new one? I need to get around to it. I wonder if it's still in theatres. LOL I'm so BAD at getting to the movies.

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  4. I thought I saw your list already but I guess not.

    We have some agreement on a few in our lists. You have some others that I definitely could consider adding to mine. The Poseidon Adventure has long been a favorite of mine--the original version that is. I enjoyed the book by Paul Gallico as well.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the original is the best. Funny side note. My brother and sister (when we were kids) always played a game where our house was turned upside down. That was a direct result from this film and upset my mother because we turned everything we possible we could, upside down.

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  5. Great list! My husband tends to watch the same movies over and over again. He's watching The Hunt for Red October now, even though he's already seen it multiple times.

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    1. Odd that there are so many movies I want to watch but never get around to, and then there are these movies in my list I watch over and over again too.

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  6. I love lists like these top 25's because now I have something to geek over. Why does time hold us prisoner in the 4th dimension? Its a great line in a review I wrote about this very awesome movie in 2009, I can't recommend enough. The 1960's Time Machine has so many twists, hooks and turns. Totally epic movie. Now Aliens is a completely different animal. It pretty frakking cool when Ripley says - this little girl survived here with zero training and no firepower. And the tough marine, Hudson just flips out bigstyle, LOL. "Well why don't you put her in charge?" Aliens is an epic horror, hilariously satisfying and entertaining all rolled up into one. Great list Jeff A+

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    1. Thanks for the approval. I am always worried what people will think about my faovurite list of anything. Glad to know there are some people who actually think the list is great. :)
      I know a lot of these movies are kind of cheesy, but then again I'm from Wisconsin. LOL

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  7. Wrath of Khan! Great list! I've seen quite a few of these!

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    1. If I had to pick a different Trek movie it would either have to be the Voyage Home, or First Contact. The new movies are amazing too.

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  8. Hey, JEFFREY, thanks so much for participating in my 25 FAVORITE MOVIES project. I apologize profusely that it's taken me so long to get over here, but you have no idea how busy I've been. What with changing jobs, BOTB, and the LISTING HOP, I've been swamped and way behind on EVERYTHING.

    I've recorded your list and will definitely include it in the finished collective list.

    You've got a nice selection of movies here, and some I myself love a great deal, starting with BACK TO THE FUTURE...

    I had the BACK TO THE FUTURE (Trilogy) on my 1994 and 2004 lists. This time, I was forced to remove it because I needed to put something in its place that I've seen since 2004. And of the 3 or 4 movies I had to delete from my 2004 list, the BACK TO THE FUTURE Trilogy is the one that hurts the most, because I think it's one of the most entertaining movie productions of all time. (I know I'm in the huge minority here, but my favorite of the three was #2 - the one that most fans liked the least).

    I've been struggling to get 'AMERICAN GRAFFITI' on my list this time (which is possibly my Brother's all-time favorite), but it doesn't look like I can remove anything else from my 2004 list. But I own BOTH 'American Graffiti' movies, and the first one I have watched countless times. (Well, you probably saw that Terry The Toad was on my list of all-time favorite male movie/TV characters.)

    'THE HOLY GRAIL' is a total classic that cracks me up. (Still can't decide which I like better, that or 'THE LIFE OF BRIAN'.) Who doesn't like 'THE PRINCESS BRIDE'? I enjoy just about everything WILLIAM HOLDEN was in - he's one of my Top 5 favorite actors ever - and 'STALAG 17' was on my Pa's 25 Favorite Movies list. (I got Holden on my list with 'THE WILD BUNCH' and 'BORN YESTERDAY'.)

    The one movie on your list that I haven't seen but want to, as I have a hunch I'll really like it, is 'BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE'. I've seen some clips from it and it seems like the sort of "dumb comedy" that appeals to me.

    Thanks again, Brother, for taking the time and thought to put your list together. It is truly appreciated and duly recorded.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    'Loyal American Underground'

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    1. POSTSCRIPT: I just need to know what state you're living in.

      ~ D-FensDogG

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    2. Glad you were finally able to make it here to check out the list. I've been fairly busy blogging myself. BotB and the Listing hop are taking a lot of time to do together. I have even been trying to make it a point to visit everyone on the listing hop list. I'm only about half way through. Then of course, I'm trying to keep my own R.a.n.t. series alive, but have had to adjust my schedule so I'm only doing it once a month instead of twice a month.
      When making the list, I can't tell you how much it hurt to cut certain movies out. I really don't get out to the theatre very often, but do enjoy watching my favourites over and over.

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    3. JEFFREY ~
      I go to the movie theatre about once every 5 years, but I watch a lot of movies on DVD.

      And yeah, putting movies on my list was easy! Making room for them (by deleting ones I genuinely LOVE) was the hard part.

      Fortunately, I've done this two or three times before, so my core list is pretty well established, but each time I need to make a few adjustments - trying to get some new favorites on the list - and it's agonizing to try figuring out which ones I can bump off from my previous list.

      This time I really wanted to get 'American Graffiti' and 'Crossroads' on my list, but I reached a point where I literally couldn't delete any more without undermining the word "FAVORITE" in the list's title.

      It's very tough, and the more one loves movies and the more movies one has seen, the tougher it is. Me, I'm big into movies and love so many classics "In Glorious Black & White", so for me, it's probably like it is for BIRGIT - we have a huge pool to draw from and narrow down. Agonizing!

      Thanks again, Jeffrey! Your participation is greatly appreciated.

      ~ D-FensDogG

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